


The Worst Kind Of Customers

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Anal Sex, Drinking, Fluff, M/M, Making Out, Porn With Plot, Swearing, slow start, updates weekly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-09-13 09:12:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 93,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9116866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Is that so?” The ‘bedhead’ smirked, in a way it felt like he was analyzing Tsukishima, no, more like he was trying to provoke him, get him to give the kind of answers that he wanted. “Then I’ll take an order of those, and some water as well. Oh, and some dessert.” His eyes got that glint in them again when he said ‘dessert’, it almost looked like he was giving Tsukishima a cheeky smile.For a brief moment Tsukishima felt conflicted, on one hand the ‘bedhead’ was very attractive and he felt a strange compulsive feeling run through him, almost like he would say yes to whatever this man had to say. But on the other hand he felt a panic run through his body, he was no stranger to sleeping with men before, but was hitting on someone you just met not in a drunken setting the norm for some people?“Sorry, this is a waffle house, we don’t have dessert here.” Tsukishima blinked his eyes a few times, pulling himself out of whatever trance he was put in briefly from looking at this guy’s eyes. He could feel that bland, less-than-interested tone return to his voice.“Oh really? What a shame. Then how about you come home with me and be my dessert instead?”





	1. Unwanted

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I recently got into Haikyuu!! and quickly descended into KuroTsuki hell, so this is my first attempt at writing KuroTsuki fan fiction. It has kind of a slow start but I'm pretty pleased with it, so I hope you enjoy it. :)
> 
>  
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://www.tettsuroo.tumblr.com/)

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Tsukishima slouched, resting his elbow on the counter as his hand rested upon his cheek, his eyes looking up at the clock, waiting endlessly for his shift to end. It was quiet, too quiet, almost like someone had died, but given the musty smell coming from outside, someone might has well have.  
It was your typical Friday night, well, if by ‘typical’, you mean working a dead-end job as a waiter to earn some extra cash, while you spent every other minute of the day studying your ass off at University, then Tsukishima Kei was living the dream. Not that he particularly hated this job, the pay was fine, and it was out of the way enough where nobody from his school actually bothered to show up to a dump like this. He always hated interactions, for as long as he could remember, Tsukishima Kei was a sarcastic, smartass of a man with little to no words to say on a daily basis, it didn’t matter who it was with, but he especially hated interactions at work, maybe it was just the whole ‘having to take orders from someone’, or the ‘customer is always right’ mentality, whatever the reason, he hated this place.

He had to give it credit where credit is due though, this place wasn’t all that bad. One of the few perks working the evening shifts in a small restaurant in the country side was that sometimes you could go tens of minutes, sometimes even over a half an hour without having someone come in. it was nice, the silence, nothing but the sounds of the clock to pass the time, hell, even sometimes the manager would let him put in his headphones in until another customer walked in. not that many people walk into a place like this, it amazed Tsukishima that this place was even still running. A job’s a job though.

He started working here straight as soon as he started college, it started out as just a job to pass the time, it was either this or spend every waking moment outside of class in the library, and two years later, he was still here. A mediocre restaurant that specialized in waffles and other ‘breakfast’ foods, the manager mentioned that when he first started here this place had been in operation since the nineteen-sixties, with the slight chipped paint and the tacky faded wallpaper to prove it. It was small, a kitchen in the back barely big enough for two cooks to fit through, with outdated utensils to go along with it, the break room in the back for the employees was just as small, complete with a few older lockers and a small square table for taking lunch breaks on. The front of the restaurant wasn’t all that impressive either, with at most ten tables lining the windowed walls, and a handful of booths in the middle. This place was still up and running, but you could definitely see the wear and tear over years of damage.

It wasn’t all that bad though, he enjoyed being alone, the only other person who was even working with him right now was the cook, Tanaka, as he went by. He was a bit of a loud man, usually way too energetic when he worked with him during the day shifts, but in the evening he was just as quiet as Tsukishima. From looking at him he had to guess that he was about a few years older than him, he hadn’t seen him around town prior to getting this job, so he thought maybe he was a loner, someone who liked to be alone like him, or maybe he was someone who didn’t go to university, since it seemed to be the only notable thing this town had in it was the college. Not that it really mattered that much anyway.  
Tsukishima peered his head back, looking at Tanaka in a brief moment to pass the time, it was either that or stare out the windows waiting for the next car to pull into the parking lot, not that he was expecting anyone to show up this late in his shift. 

Tanaka was staring at the clock on the wall, eating a freshly cooked hash brown, another perk of working at this place was free breakfast food whenever you wanted, and Tsukishima definitely was the epitome of the starving college student. I mean, who would say no to free food, right? From the way the manager told it, Tanaka had been here for years, he was pretty much an assistant manager by this point, which was the reason why a lot of times when Tanaka was working there was no need for a manager.

Tsukishima sighed, scratching the back of his head in another attempt to look at the clock. He was used to slow shifts, but something about tonight seemed to be making him dread working here more and more, it only seemed to be growing the longer he spent without doing anything. If he knew he was going to be this bored, he would have brought a book to read.

“Less than thirty minutes now.” Tsukishima mumbled to himself, he was almost positive that Tanaka didn’t hear him as they made eye contact with each other for a split second. His eyes were dark brown and his tan skin and shaved head seemed to contrast against the off-white colored walls of the kitchen. It was so empty looking you even wondered if they cooked any food tonight at all. (Apart from the hash browns Tanaka made himself for a snack.)

“Hey!” Tanaka yelled, making Tsukishima jump like he wasn’t expecting it, so much for him being quiet tonight. “Why the long face? You that eager to get out of here?” It seemed like the longer he talked, the louder his voice got. Tsukishima had to bite his tongue to remind himself to not say something rude or sarcastic to someone who was technically his boss.  
“Oh no, I just remembered I had a paper to write when I get back to my dorm.” He lied. He really was never one for conversation. It’s not like he was in a hurry or anything, working here was certainly a lot quieter than being on campus, but he couldn’t shake that uneasy feeling of dread that seemed to plague him tonight. Maybe it was just the weather, it was starting to become the rainy season after all.

Right as soon as Tanaka was about to say something, most likely something about needing to be more motivated, a speech Tsukishima got many times in his life already, from his teachers, to his friends, to even his parents. Everyone always told him that he was a diligent worker, someone who always did his job, but he always looked too relaxed, whatever that meant he never could figure out. They always told him that he had a blank expression on his face, that his ‘happy’, ‘sad’, and ‘angry’ looks all looked the same. He had heard this speech so many times he could practically quote it, it didn’t matter who was saying it anymore.

Tsukishima turned his head around, interrupting whatever Tanaka was about to say, at the sound of the bell on the top of the front door chiming, signaling that someone, or someone’s were entering the restaurant. 

Tsukishima sighed, closing his eyes and pushing his glasses up his face from where they slightly started to fall down. Just when he was hoping he could go the rest of this shift without having to interact with anyone else. Well, nevertheless, it did save him from one of Tanaka’s lectures, not that he was particularly good at giving lectures, his lectures mainly involved him yelling a few lines and Tsukishima acting like he was listening so he could get him to stop yelling, it was quite an effective strategy really.

Tsukishima brought his eyes to the new group of people that were standing in the doorway of the restaurant. Seriously, right when his shift was almost over? These were always the worst type of customers, the ones that came in right when they were almost done. 

He sighed again, furrowing his eyebrows like he was scolding, as his eyes looked over the group of people standing before him, a group of three boys, around his age if he had to guess, and they all had a certain ‘aura’ about them, like they were show offs, the kind of people that demanding attention on them at all times. Tsukishima couldn’t help but wonder what would bring a group of people like them to a rundown restaurant like this, not that it mattered.

“Do we seat ourselves?” the one on the right asked, he seemed to be the most normal looking one out of the group, with dark hair, and a calming voice as he gave a slight smile.

“Yeah, I’ll be there to take your order in a minute.” All Tsukishima could do was nod as he tried to fight the new urge of sarcasm that was bubbling up inside of him.

He watched them for a moment, picking the seats at the corner table in the back. He thought to himself about how these guys looked like the kind of people that would sit in the corner, probably the kind of people who get themselves thrown out of bars for being too loud. He watched as the three of them seemed to open their menus in unison, flipping through the pages as they were having what appeared to be small talk. He thought for a brief moment he saw one of them glance up at him, but quickly threw that thought out of his mind. Even from a distance he could hear bits and pieces of their conversations, the tallest one, the one that he deemed ‘bedhead’s laughter ringing through his ears from the other side of the restaurant. People like that are so annoying, they have no common curtesy for the people around them.

From where they were sitting, he was only able to make out one of their faces cleanly, the ‘bedhead’ one, since the other two had their backs facing him. From what he could see, he wasn’t that bad of a looking guy, tall, gorgeous eyes, messy hair, and a cat like grin that seemed to compliment all of his facial features. 

Tsukishima was no stranger to one night stands, ever since he started college his roommates would drag him out to clubs occasionally where they would ‘hook up’ with other people. It wasn’t something that he particularly enjoyed, but he wasn’t opposed to it either, the ‘bedhead’ guy reminded him exactly of the kind of man he would see at a club like that, the kind of person that both guys and girls are hanging over, wanting to take him home for the night. Tsukishima hated a lot of things, especially the kind of people who felt entitled to everything, the kind who know their gorgeous and get whatever they want. Ugh, just thinking about it made him want to barf.

The other two were hard to make out, one with dark, almost perfectly combed ‘neat’ looking hair, and the other with his hair arranged into two perfect crafted spikes, the types pure white. These people certainly had some interesting hair styles.

He tried to make out what kind of clothes they were wearing as he looked up at the clock on the wall in the kitchen a few feet away, five minutes was usually the right amount of time to give people for these kind of things. Again, he really couldn’t see the people who had their backs to him, but it looked like they were all wearing some sort of assortment of sports clothes, training gear maybe? Were they apart of some sports teams? He thought about how maybe they went to the same University as him and he just didn’t know it.

“Okay, are you guys ready to order?” Tsukishima tried to best to sound as enthusiastic, this was the worst part about being a waiter, you had to pretend to be a pleasant person if you wanted to get any sort of tip.

“Yes, I’ll just take some waffles with a side of bacon, and a glass of water.” The ‘calm one’ as Tsukishima dubbed him, spoke first, his voice was almost like a lullaby, you felt like it you listened to it long enough you could actually fall asleep it to.

“Aw, come on Akaashi, you’re so boring.” The one sitting next to the ‘calm one’, the one with the spiked hair almost whined, he even placed his hands on the ‘calm one’s shoulders, like he was lightly shaking him.

“Well, what do you want?” The ‘calm one’ who was apparently named ‘Akaashi’ turned his head to face the spikey haired one. 

“Hmmm…” The spikey haired one pondered for a minute before opening his mouth widely with excitement. “I’ll take an omelet, but with bacon and salsa, you can do that, right? Oh, and whatever soda you have that had the most caffeine in it!” His voice was a lot more enthusiastic than he thought it would be, it had a lot more bounce to it, almost like he was a little kid trapped in a college students body. Tsukishima didn’t think he had ever seen that much excitement from someone from ordering food, let along someone who looked like they were over eighteen.

“Shit Bo, way to have an unusual appetite.” The ‘bedhead’ sitting across from them joked. Tsukishima was too busy thinking about if it would be possible for Tanaka to make this sort of omelet or not. He was a fine cook and usually no request involving food was too unreasonable for him, so it should be fine.

“Does he really need more caffeine?” Akaashi spoke again, you could see a hint of sarcasm in his voice. 

“Akaashi!” The spikey haired one yelled again, so loud you could probably hear him on the other side of town. “You’re so mean! You know I am ten times more fun when I’m like this, and since this place doesn’t have alcohol, I need something to keep me going, until you know.” In that moment Tsukishima felt like he heard a little too much of that conversation. He had no problems with people being affectionate, but he really didn’t want to hear about someone’s love life while they were placing an order for breakfast food. 

“Ignore them, they always get like this.” ‘Bedhead’ spoke up, he had a certain glint in his eyes that made it feel like he was looking at you as if you were his prey or something, and on top of that there was that damn smile, if he had to compare it to anything, it looked like a grin from the Cheshire cat. “I’m still a little indecisive, so why don’t you tell me what’s good?”

Tsukishima sighed, he was sadly used to this question, often people would drive through here, just passing by and make a stop at this restaurant, most of them were just as indecisive, deep down he secretly wished they would just order their waffles and leave.

But, he couldn’t say the same for this man, he was gorgeous, and his words were slow and lingered on the tip of his tongue. He didn’t know if it was just the atmosphere or what, but something told him he wouldn’t mind listening to this guy talk all night long. His eyes immediately wandered to his lips as his brain began to scramble thoughts of thoughts of this man mixed with thoughts of food. What was going on, he didn’t even know this guy’s name and yet here he was, not able to take his eyes off of him.

With the blink of an eye he managed to bring himself back down to earth though, remembering this attractive is probably just your regular over-confident jerk, the kind of person that Tsukishima hated the most, the kind that he really wished would just leave the restaurant. 

“Well…” Tsukishima sighed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose one more time. “We are a waffle house, but I would say our pancakes are pretty good, and our cook tonight does make some killer hash browns.” He lied, just saying whatever food came into his brain. For someone reason when he heard the word food all he could do was picture Tanaka standing behind the counter eating one of the hash browns he just cooked up.

“Is that so?” The ‘bedhead’ smirked, in a way it felt like he was analyzing Tsukishima, no, more like he was trying to provoke him, get him to give the kind of answers that he wanted. “Then I’ll take an order of those, and some water as well. Oh, and some dessert.” His eyes got that glint in them again when he said ‘dessert’, it almost looked like he was giving Tsukishima a cheeky smile.

For a brief moment Tsukishima felt conflicted, on one hand the ‘bedhead’ was very attractive and he felt a strange compulsive feeling run through him, almost like he would say yes to whatever this man had to say. But on the other hand he felt a panic run through his body, he was no stranger to sleeping with men before, but was hitting on someone you just met not in a drunken setting the norm for some people? 

“Sorry, this is a waffle house, we don’t have dessert here.” Tsukishima blinked his eyes a few times, pulling himself out of whatever trance he was put in briefly from looking at this guy’s eyes. He could feel that bland, less-than-interested tone return to his voice.

“Oh really? What a shame. Then how about you come home with me and be my dessert instead?” The ‘bedhead’ winked, sending a chill to run down Tsukishima’s spine.

Do people still use cringe worthy pick-up lines like that in real life? In all of the times Tsukishima’s friends had dragged him out to bars and clubs, not once did someone even try to use that kind of line on him.

Tsukishima thought briefly about turning the guy down right then and there, but it had already been a long day, combined with his Friday classes and what felt a never-ending shift, this wasn’t a bar, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a little fun bringing this guy down a peg or two. Though, getting caught flirting on the job was probably a sure-fire way to get yourself fired.

“I trust you know this isn’t a bar, right?” Tsukishima tried to make his words sound as spiteful as possible. He had done this once or twice when he was out drinking before, when someone who he really didn’t want to be with started flirting with him. Usually most people don’t want to deal with someone as stubborn and snarky, and after a few sarcastic quips, they give up and move on to someone else. Somehow, he didn’t feel like this guy would be that easy.

“I know very well this isn’t a bar…” The ‘bedhead’ eyes grazed up and down Tsukishima’s apron waiter uniform, until they landed on the slightly worn out nametag resting in the center of it all. “Tsukishima.” 

“Ooh, that’s such a pretty name.” The spikey haired one chimed in, gasping like a little love-struck school girl.

“It certainly is.” The ‘bedhead’ winked again, sending another shiver down Tsukishima’s spine.

This time he decided to just ignore it, some people are persistent and can’t take any hints. The ‘bedhead’ was attractive and smug, maybe, just maybe if this was a club he would let things play out, maybe see what other kinds of lines this guy had up his sleeve, but in a place like this, at his work, it would be best not to get involved in something like this.

“I’ll be back with your food.” Tsukishima turned his attention back to the boys, knowing very well that he could still feel the ‘bedhead’s eyes still on him, lingering there like he was waiting for him to do something. “Oh, and our cook can cook your omelet.” He turned his head back to the spikey haired one, before he attempted to turn on the balls of his feet to walk away.

“Hey!” The spikey haired one yelled, like he just remembered something important. Tsukishima looked at him curiously, waiting for whatever energized thing he had to say, he could see the eyes of the two other men bring their attention to the spikey haired one as well. “Aren’t you in the same Psychology class as me?”

Taken back by the question, Tsukishima shrugged, making sure to keep that less-than-amazed tone still in his voice. “Maybe?” So these people did go to the same University as him, it made sense, most people under thirty didn’t live in this town without somehow being affiliated with the college. But even if he did have class with this guy, he wouldn’t recognize them. Most of his classes, especially his psychology class, were filled with twenty to thirty other people at most. Plus, Tsukishima didn’t really have a need to memorize the names of people he wasn’t interacting with on a daily basis.

“I think you are, you’re the quiet, smart kid that sits in front of me!” The spikey haired jutted again, his face beaming with a smile.  
“Oh, that’s nice, I guess?” Once again Tsukishima was reminded how terrible he was with conversation, he really didn’t have a desire to interact with this group outside of taking their orders, so why was this guy suddenly sounding so excited about them being in the same class?

“You take psychology, Bo?” The ‘bedhead’ spoke again, relaxing his face as his eyes fell back onto Tsukishima. His voice almost sounded in disbelief as he questioned the over-excitement of the spikey haired one.

“Hey! I may not look it, but I’m not just all muscles, I can study too!” The spikey haired one boasted, Tsukishima didn’t really have a desire to memorize their faces, but looking over them again you could definitely tell these guys had some muscle to their bodies, especially the ‘bedhead’ and the spikey haired one.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you read a book a day in your life.” The ‘bedhead’ teased him, getting a slight smirk from Akaashi. You could tell these three were the best of friends.  
Tsukishima pondered for a moment if he should interrupt them, telling them he would be right back with their food and drinks, but was once again interrupt by the sound of the over excitement from the spikey haired one. Tsukishima made a mental note that from a distance his hairstyle almost resembled an owl.

He caught himself zoning out for a brief moment, before catching the end of the conversation. “…But you still can’t stop my blocks at practice, Kuroo.” The spikey haired one gestured towards the ‘bedhead’, Tsukishima assumed that was the ‘bedhead’s name, not that it mattered all that much, but if there was a slight chance the two of them had another interaction outside of this dingy restaurant, he wouldn’t want to accidentally refer to the man as ‘bedhead’. 

Practice? Tsukishima tilted his head, well I guess that explains why they’re all wearing athletic gear and sweats. Tsukishima assumed they were one of the school’s sports team, probably volleyball or something, he found himself again reminding himself that it didn’t matter. They were just customers, three, albeit, attractive customers, but none of them seemed to catch his eye as much as the ‘bedhead’ named Kuroo.

He didn’t know why but he felt himself wanting to know more about them, about him. He forced himself to bite his tongue so he wouldn’t subconsciously ask them what sport they play or what their majors were. He was never a people person, but he had a terrible habit, especially when he was drunk, to just say whatever thing came into his brain, he heard many times from his roommates before about how embarrassing it was.

“So you guys indirectly know each other then?” The ‘bedhead’- Kuroo, Tsukishima found himself correcting himself in his head, as the man brought his attention back onto Tsukishima. “I’m Kuroo by the way, Kuroo Tetsurou.” He gave a sly grin as he extended his hand, half expecting Tsukishima to shake it.

“You’ll have to forgive me; I don’t usually shake customer’s hands.” You could practically freeze Hell with the coldness radiating off of Tsukishima, this guy just a few moments ago was telling him that he wanted to eat him as his ‘dessert’, and now he was acting all friendly like they just got paired together to do a group project or something.

“I see you’re a hard one to get, Tsukki.” Kuroo smirked, that Cheshire grin returning to his face. Tsukishima felt a small sense of satisfaction run through him, knowing that he was right about this guy, he was the kind of guy that always got what he wanted, probably had rich parents and wasn’t used to being told no before, he definitely wanted to take this guy down a peg or two.

Tsukki? He bit down on his tongue again, the newfound nickname this man had decided to give him taking him off guard. He was only used to hearing that name from his childhood friend and now college roommate, Yamaguchi, he didn’t mind hearing it from him, but having that name roll off of Kuroo’s tongue so playfully seemed so different, not wrong, just different, like he was trying to be coy about it, trying to get some kind of reaction out of him.

Before Tsukishima could even retort to even tell the man to not give him a nickname like that on the spot, he was already being interrupted again by the bubbly spikey haired man at the table.

“Hey! We should study together, Tsukki seems smart and final exams are coming up next month!”

“That is a wonderful idea.” Kuroo chimed in, his gaze refusing to leave Tsukishima as his eyes ran up and down the blondes body for what felt like the tenth time in the past few minutes.

Tsukishima was never opposed to studying, in fact that’s where all of his free time to college seemed to go, if he wasn’t in his dorm room, at work, or in a class, you could probably find him in the library with his face glued to a book. But, that being said, studying with other people, didn’t sound nearly as enticing, it sounded more like a chore than anything else, and judging from the look in Kuroo’s eyes, he felt like it would be less actual studying and more…. well ‘studying’, somewhere along the ‘Netflix and chill’ type of studying. Maybe it was just the dread from working a long shift and the knot that was forming in his stomach, but being alone with this guy, despite how gorgeous he seemed, was probably a bad idea.  
Tsukishima couldn’t help but let his spiteful side show with that remark. “You guys don’t look like the type who study, you look more like the type you do your homework at the last minute possible.”

“Tsukki, I’m wounded.” Kuroo placed his hand on top of his chest, acting like he was hurt, with a fake joking voice along with it. But just as quickly as he started faking it, he just as quickly turned back into that man with the Cheshire grin as he eyed over Tsukishima. 

He couldn’t help but wonder why he was still standing here talking to these guys, all he had to do was run off back to the kitchen to give Tanaka their orders and then he would be one step closer to being done with tonight, it was getting late as it was, and these people were probably going to be the last customers of the night. But, no matter how much he tried to move his feet, he couldn’t bring himself to walk away, his eyes remaining glued onto the gorgeous, bed headed man in front of him, somewhere along the way he even felt himself secretly wishing to hear another one of his terrible pick-up lines. Wait, what? 

Before he could even process his thoughts, Kuroo was back at it again with his smooth voice, that seemed to resonate inside of Tsukishima’s mind, his words lingering as they rang through his ears.

“Well Tsukki, when do you get off?” Kuroo’s words seemed far more predatory this time, instead of a casual question it felt far more like an interrogation. 

But, regardless of that, he couldn’t help himself from answering him, it was almost instantly, the second he heard the question the words just started rolling off of his tongue.  
“Whenever you guys leave.” He tried to retain that same spiteful, almost bored tone in his voice, but even he could feel it shaking, and he was certain Kuroo could too.

Something that almost sounded like a pleased ‘hum’ escaped Kuroo’s lips and he stood up, he wasn’t quite as tall as Tsukishima, but something about him still made him feel very threatening. He kept one hand in the pocket of his sweats as the other rested on the table, Akaashi and the spikey haired one both seemed unfazed by this, maybe they were used to his acts of flirting or whatever you call this.

“Oh really? Then how about we skip the meal and head straight to the dessert?” There was that smug wink he gave off again, sending another chill to run down Tsukishima’s spine in the worst way possible. He hated guys like him, but at the same time, he had a certain weakness for this sort of thing, attractive, smug guys who became the center of attention in every room they entered, they were the biggest flirts, and from Tsukishima’s experience, the best in bed.

Tsukishima was used to this sort of over-confident, flirty attitude when he went out drinking, it was always a nice change of pace compared to everything else he experienced at college, but coming from this guy it seemed like a little bit more than the basic drunk, one-night-stand hook-up from two college kids. 

In the back of his mind Tsukishima couldn’t help but think ‘why not’?, it’s not like he actually had a paper to write when he got home, if anything he just used that as an excuse so people would leave him alone and excuse his always bitter attitude, but was there a real reason to stop him from hooking up with this guy? Other than he seemed like a grade-a jerk. And on top of that, why did he seem so persistent on Tsukishima anyway, Tsukishima was sure there would be a lot more people that would jump at an opportunity like this if Kuroo wondered into a club, with having both guys and girls throw themselves at him. Certainly he could find some else far more willing to play this little game of his.

“Sorry, I have a paper to write.” He lied again. For all he knew this guy was probably one of the more popular boys on campus, and if he wanted to take someone home, or go home with someone, he would save that sort of thing for a club.

“Is that so? But it’s only a Friday night, and you seem like a smart enough guy, I’m sure you could complete it on Sunday.” He smirked. What was that about Tsukishima thinking he was persistent? It was ten times worse than that. 

As his eyes locked onto Kuroo’s features, he thought for a moment about what kind of reaction he was expecting to get out of this. His eyes wandered from his bangs, covering up a portion of his face, to his dark eyes, almost cat-like, and his perfectly curved lips, Tsukishima could almost feel himself pushing himself forward on the balls of his feet, moving to kiss the attractive, slightly shorter man in front of him.

“Yes, well…” Tsukishima clenched his fists at his side, forcing himself to remain calm as he averted eye contact with him. “I like to get my school work done early so I can enjoy my weekends.” Tsukishima could feel that knot in his stomach turning once more, suddenly reminding him that he was still at work. Tanaka was always pretty cool about anything and everything, but he didn’t think flirting, even if Tsukishima wasn’t the one that was actually doing anything, would be a good idea.

Curiously, he waited for Kuroo’s response, he had this sinking feeling in him that him and his two friends might not actually be staying to eat her after all. That sort of thing had happened a few times before, people drive through this place, stop in for a bite to eat, not realizing this is nothing more than a waffle house, and then be on their way. It was a bit of a nuisance more than anything, really.

“Well…” Kuroo bit his lip, removing his hand off of the table and reach forward to grab a pen that hung neatly in the bottom pocket of Tsukishima’s waiter apron. “I’m not normally one for hookups on the spot, but I’ll be blunt for once.” He shifted his eyes to look up at the somewhat frazzled blonde. “I like you, Tsukki, and since we go to the same school, even better.” 

Kuroo’s eyes danced over Tsukishima one more time, stopping when he saw the feint resemblance of a notebook hanging out of Tsukishima’s apron, already with the pen in hand, he decided to grab it. It was filled with what you would expect from a waiter, nothing but pages and pages of peoples’ orders, with their order on the next to last page. Kuroo thought to himself about how convenient that was, as he scribbled down his number on the empty page before sliding the notebook back into Tsukishima’s pocket. From off in the corner a few feet away from the two, it almost sounded like you could hear Akaashi and the spikey haired man whispering about something. There was no doubt in Tsukishima’s mind they were whispering about whatever the hell was going on here. You would think after more than two years of his friends dragging him out to clubs he would be used to this, but this was definitely new to him. Even as long as working at this restaurant, he had many a times people flirting with him, some guys and some girls, but it was all in good fun just to get him a bigger tip. This, this was not like those times.

“I hope you know I’m not hooking up with someone I just met.” Tsukishima all but glared as he swiped the pen out of Kuroo’s hand.  
“Oh, I know. That would be far too easy, don’t you think?” Kuroo straightened up his posture as he turned back to face Akaashi and the spikey haired one. “Bo, Akaashi, how about we get out of here? Since I think I already have everything I need.” He turned back to face Tsukishima, a coy, playful grin spreading on his face.

“Aw, but I was hungry.” The spikey haired one whined as he clung to Akaashi as the two got out of their seats.

“If you want I’ll give you some pizza when we get back to my apartment.”

“Really?” The spikey haired ones’ faces lit up with a surprised smile as the three of them made their way past Tsukishima. He couldn’t help but stare at them dumbfounded.  
He watched as the three of them made their way to the front of the restaurant, opening the door, another ring of the bell signaling they were leaving.

“Oh, by the way, Tsukki, what’s your major?”

Once again Tsukishima found himself not hesitating, as he practically told Kuroo everything he wanted to hear. “Biology.” He almost felt ashamed to say it out loud, he wasn’t sure if it was because he was embarrassed about his major in general or if it was because he was telling a complete stranger about it. He didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t like he wanted to shout it to the world either.

He watched as Kuroo’s face lit up with a smile, it was somewhere in-between a half genuine and that same Cheshire grin he saw far too much of tonight. “I think we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.” Complete with another wink, and the closing ringing of the bell, he didn’t even give Tsukishima time to answer as the door closed behind him.

Trying to process his thought, Tsukishima walked back to behind the front counter, where Tanaka was, his head still being filled with thoughts of the gorgeous bedhead. He had been going to school for two years, and he somehow had never seen anyone quite like Kuroo on or off campus, maybe he was a transfer student or something.

“Hey!” He heard Tanaka yell from behind the counter, he didn’t even bother to tell him those people weren’t eating, not that he couldn’t figure that out for himself.

“What?” Tsukishima brought his head up to be met with Tanaka’s eyes. You could see Tanaka glancing out the window as the three people who were once inside were now walking in the parking lot. His tone seemed completely different as he observed them.

“So that guy is the new boys’ volleyball captain?” Tanaka’s voice was just as bland as it had been before, it was a new sound for him, normally he had so much energy and was good at getting riled up.

“Huh?” Tsukishima’s jaw almost dropped as he shifted his head from Tanaka to outside, then back to Tanaka. “An assistant coach?” Having an assistant coach wasn’t that uncommon at the college, especially when you consider how many various sports and clubs a place like this had to offer, but that guy, seriously? 

“Yeah, my sister works on staff at the college, she mentioned the other day that there was a new transfer student who joined the volleyball club, apparently he’s really good and was immediately promoted to captain, she didn’t mention his name or anything, just that according to his paper work he was good at volleyball and majoring in biology, everyone who saw him thought he was gorgeous, sounds like he’s going to be busy.”

“Yeah, sounds like.” Tsukishima decided to drop the subject there, so this is what he was talking about.

Thinking about it, Tsukishima never did ask him anything about him, mainly because he just wanted him to leave, but a transfer student, really? We’ll be seeing a lot of each other. I guess now Tsukishima knew what he meant by that. 

Tsukishima tried his best to unclench his fists as a new wave of annoyance rushed over him. Tsukishima really had nothing to do with the volleyball club, he played it in high school and was considered pretty good amongst his peers, but he had no desire to continue playing out, outside of playing an occasional match or two with his friends and his older brother.  


Tsukishima thoughts about how he should have guessed that jerk was the captain of a club, with the way that he carried himself and the demeanor he gave off. No wonder he hadn’t seen the guy around before, not that he was really looking for him.  


Amidst all this Tsukishima still somehow managed to pull his notebook out of the pocket of his apron, flipping it to the last page and softly running his fingers over the newly written numbers in it. For a guy he wrote so neatly, each number lining perfectly with the lines in the notebook, Tsukishima had never seen anyone write so perfectly before.  


“Kuroo Tetsurou.” Tsukishima breathed quietly, making sure Tanaka, a few feet away from him couldn’t hear. “I think you’re right, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other soon.”  



	2. Acquaintances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What do you want, Kuroo?” Tsukishima stopped in his tracks, but refusing to turn around to come face to face with the slightly shorter, yet still attractive man directly behind him.
> 
> “Still cold as usual, it’s really late, you know?” Kuroo’s voice never ceased to drop that smug tone Tsukishima was still so used to hearing.
> 
> “I had a night class tonight, you should know that since you’re friends with Bokuto.”
> 
> “Hmm…” A slight ‘hum’ escaped Kuroo’s lips, Tsukishima didn’t have to look at him to know that he was smiling. “Actually you were just the person I was looking for; I need your help?”

If there is a god, Tsukishima was sure that he didn’t exist, at least, not in the way that he wanted him to.

It had been almost two weeks since that fateful, or dreadful, depending on how you want to look at it, day at the waffle house. The day that Kuroo Tetsurou waltzed into Tsukishima Kei’s life, and his life hadn’t gotten better since then. 

Out of some cruel twist of fate, he not only had to be majoring in the same thing as that guy, but they had to have more than half their classes together. It was like a never-ending nightmare; he couldn’t escape him no matter where he went. Kuroo was the talk of the town, it seemed like. To an extent it made sense, the attractive new student who was smart, charismatic, and gorgeous, both guys and girls couldn’t leave him alone. Just about every day Tsukishima would walk to class and see Kuroo’s stupid smug, yet beautiful face everywhere. To having girls offer to carry his books, or walking in groups with the other members of the volleyball team, it didn’t matter what it was, it all seemed to piss Tsukishima off.

He still had his number from that night in the restaurant, but he was in no way shape or form actually planning on using it. It was bad enough he had to see that guy multiple times a week in class, let alone ‘studying’ with him, the thought of it made Tsukishima’s skin crawl.

But today, today would be different, because today was Thursday, the one special day of the week where Tsukishima didn’t have to work that shitty job, didn’t have to have classes with Kuroo (who for some reason decided to sit next to Tsukishima in every class they had together), because today was his psychology class, his one and only night class. The class itself wasn’t exactly something that anyone would be looking forward to, it was over ninety minutes, and the professor for it was boring as hell, Tsukishima didn’t even make it back to his dorm room until after eight o’clock at night, but it was a chance to be without Kuroo, a chance to get away from the obnoxious everything about him. Ugh, if anything, Tsukishima just needed a break.

“Tsukki!” To his astonishment, the moment he walked into emptier than normal classroom, someone was already yelling that alarming nickname at him. This time it was spikey haired, or as now he knew his name, Bokuto Kotaro. 

Bokuto, or ‘Bo’ as Kuroo called him for short, wasn’t a terrible person, Tsukishima definitely didn’t get the same vibes from him that he got from Kuroo, but he just talked way too much. The guy spoke like a mile a minute, and he was always the person to go to to know what sort of gossip was happening on and off campus, having a friend like him would probably be useful, but for Tsukishima, he didn’t think he would ever be able to get past all of his talking. He only had a few conversations with him, but he already felt like he knew more about Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi than he ever needed to.

Apparently, Bokuto and Kurro were childhood friends, that much was already obvious without needing that information from Bokuto, but when they were in middle school Kuroo had to move across the country because of his parents, and now thanks to a ‘tragic incident’ (Bokuto’s words) he moved back, in the middle of college. Honestly, hearing a story like that only made Tsukishima think of the worst and actually feel bad for the smug bedhead, but that sympathy was immediately replaced with annoyance the moment he remembered what kind of person Kuroo was.

On top of that, Bokuto was useful for all kinds of information, like he was a professional eavesdropper, mostly he just told stories of things he learned from other people, but he did manage to learn a thing or two about Bokuto and Akaashi as well. Much like Tsukishima suspected that day at the waffle house, Bokuto and Akaashi were an item, they had been since high school. According to Bokuto, the two of them were on the same volleyball team back then and that’s how it all started, Tsukishima started to fade in and out while listening to the story, but he got the jist of it. Akaashi had always had feelings for Bokuto, which at the time he thought would remain unrequited, until one day Bokuto realized how he really felt and the rest was history. It’s actually kind of a cute story if you think about it, a little bit too much ‘cookie cutter’ romance for Tsukishima’s taste though, not that he was the kind of person that was interested in love and romance in the first place.

Outside of the interesting stories and gossip, Tsukishima found himself getting along quite well if Bokuto, if you disregard the whole being really loud and simple minded thing, and Bokuto didn’t piss him off nearly as much as he was expecting. But, one thing that still did piss him off was the name ‘Tsukki’. His long time best friend and now college roommate, Yamaguchi, had always called him that, ever since they were young. But ever since that day at the restaurant where Kuroo relentlessly called him that, he couldn’t even hear that name roll off the tongue of his best friend without getting cringe worthy flashback to that day. It was like that name, part of his name, had now been forever ruined for him.

Tsukishima was able to muster a slight groaning sound as he took his seat in front of Bokuto. If he had to give Bokuto any other compliment besides being a professional eavesdropper, he had a great memory. He was right, Tsukishima did sit in front of him in Psychology class.

By now he just assumed Bokuto got used to his personality. Tsukishima was a man of few words, they most consisted of one word answers, only rarely going above five if someone asked him a specific question, or if he was talking to Yamaguchi. Mostly, any conversations he had with Bokuto were Bokuto rattling off some story he overheard and Tsukishima nodding like he was paying attention, saying it like that almost made Tsukishima feel like an asshole at times. Occasionally Bokuto would diverge from that pattern and talk about Akaashi or Kuroo, which is where Tsukishima would tune in again. Despite how much he wanted to ignore it, whenever he heard Kuroo’s name his body began to subconsciously tune in, like he was being put on edge without his knowledge, his whole body would begin to tense up and that knot in his stomach would return. What was this feeling?

Bokuto was looking as lively as ever from behind, wearing another various assortment of sweats, he probably just got back from the gym. He mentioned several times how him, Akaashi, and Kuroo were all on the schools’ volleyball team. In the beginning of his first year as a college student Tsukishima contemplated about joining it, but decided not to in favor for just focusing on his studies instead. And now he was thankful he made that decision, having to deal with Kuroo in class was one thing, but having to deal with him during practice, and when he is the captain of all people, he really felt bad for that team.

“Tsukki! Guess what?” Bokuto’s words rang in his ear like a giddy little school girl. He placed his hands atop Tsukishima’s shoulders, shaking him lightly to get his attention.

“What?” Tsukishima groaned again as he pulled his Psychology book out of his bag. The only worse thing than having a long class like this in the late evening was having a professor who didn’t show up until the last minute possible. 

“We’re throwing Kuroo a party next week at mine and Akaashi’s place. It’s like a welcoming party and we want you to come.” You could tell from the whispering tone in his voice that he was struggling to not yell out a loud ‘whoo!’ at the end.

“A party? I’ll have to pass.” It’s not like Tsukishima hated parties, he would never admit it, but he actually sort of enjoyed going to them, but that feeling in the pit of his stomach told him going to something for Kuroo would be a bad idea. Drinking, the ‘high-life’, whatever else you wanted to call it, it was a place where teenagers and college kids thrive, and probably the biggest place where mistakes were made. In his mind he could already picturing himself having one too many drinks, and Kuroo bringing that over-confident attitude he had with him the night they first met, and trying to ‘have him for dessert’ as Kuroo would say. Thinking back to it, it made Tsukishima cringe. What kind of a person uses a pick-up line like that anyway?

“Aw, come on Tsukki, it’s a little over a week away, you should have plenty of time to get off of work.” You could hear the desperation in Bokuto’s voice, like he was one step away from begging.

Work, that’s right. Tsukishima almost had to remind himself. It was the perfect excuse, most college kids were starving as it was, and who would pass up the opportunity to make more money? Tsukishima’s job was easy as it was, since the waffle house pretty much only had five food options.

But, besides having the perfect excuse, it had only been two weeks but he learned by now that there was nothing worse than a sad and pouting Bokuto. During lunch sometimes he’d be there at the same times as Akaashi and Bokuto, (and sadly yes, Kuroo), the three of them would practically force Tsukishima to sit with them, Kuroo insisting sitting next to him. 

During that time Tsukishima would fake having a lot of school work to do and bury his face in a book, but he remembered over hearing once from Akaashi about Bokuto easily falling into various mood swings, he said on their old high school team they referred to it as ‘Bokuto’s emo mode’ where he gets all depressed and in a slump, like someone who just found out they failed their final exams. The way he described it, it sounded like the worst thing anyone would have to watch, and he wanted to do whatever he could to avoid having to witness one of these ‘Bokuto slumps’. 

“I won’t make any promises, but I’ll see what I could do.” It was a lie, well, mostly a lie. Tsukishima figured he could just tell him he would try to make it and then at the last minute say he couldn’t get out of work, if he was lucky, hopefully one of the more strict managers would be working that night.

“Really?” Bokuto’s face lit up again with a smile, that same eager, overly happy school girl look he had just moments ago. “Great because I know Kuroo is looking forward to see you.”

“He is?” Tsukishima almost questioned it in disbelief. Thinking back on that night in the restaurant he did remember Kuroo saying that he liked him, but can you really like someone based on knowing so little about them? Tsukishima was very reluctant to open up about anything, so if anything all Kuroo knew about him was his name, where he worked, and his major, and the same goes for Tsukishima, Kuroo was still a complete mystery to him.

“Of course, he’s the one who requested that I invite you. You can bring any roommates you have too, the more the better. Oh, but Tsukki, you have to promise you’ll do shots with me!” There was that whiney sound in his voice again, the same one Tsukishima heard the night at the restaurant. 

Bokuto seemed pretty simple minded, and someone who was hyper and very susceptible to mood swings, from Tsukishima’s experience, those kinds of people were the craziest at parties. Bokuto was probably one of those people who went out and got drunk the very first night he arrived on campus. And suddenly, he felt like Bokuto was acting more like a wingman than anything else.

“Okay.” Tsukishima was still a man of very few words, but if Bokuto was roommates and friends with Kuroo, he could try to use Bokuto’s eagerness to his advantage. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but he was still curious about Kuroo, in more ways than one. It didn’t matter what he was thinking about or what he was doing, somehow his mind always seemed to end right back up thinking about one thing, Kuroo.

Tsukishima didn’t think it was possible for Bokuto to look happier, but he was wrong. A smile spread on his face like a little kid getting ready to unwrap presents on Christmas morning, it wasn’t anything like the Cheshire grin he had seen on Kuroo, this was more genuine, maybe it was just the fact that Bokuto didn’t have that predator look in his eye. Though, Bokuto was a pretty nice person, picturing him with any kind of predatory look did seem like a stretch. 

Tsukishima thought about opening his mouth, getting ready to ask Bokuto any question he could think of about Kuroo, but he was abruptly cut off by the sounds of the professor entering the room. He turned back around, throwing the thought from his mind as he pushed his glasses back up his, proceeding to opening his textbook. It was going to be a long lecture.

 

 

Tsukishima’s body ached as he made his way down the empty sidewalks of the quiet campus in the late evening. One of the biggest downsides of having a night class for more than an hour on end was that your limbs feel numb by the time you get outside. Despite what some people may think, sitting in a class for over an hour without moving, is not fun! But he really couldn’t complain all that much, having a night class also means you get to walk back to your dorm with some peace and quiet, something that seemed few and far between when living on a college campus. If he knew anything from being observant, his roommate, Yamaguchi, was probably already asleep by now, he was always out like a light on school nights so he had nothing to worry about. He would also have to tell him sometime within the next week about Kuroo’s party. 

He may not have looked it with his slightly messy brown hair, his somewhat happy voice, and his freckles, but Yamaguchi was more of a partier than you would expect, he was the one who got Tsukishima to go to his first party, and has been dragging him around to club after club ever since. But, Yamaguchi had a slight naive air about him, which was why Tsukishima always had to go with him whenever he wanted to go out drinking to make sure he didn’t get into any trouble, or go home with someone he shouldn’t have.

After class was out Bokuto grabbed his bag and scampered off, saying something about how Akaashi was waiting for him and that they had ‘special plans’ tonight. Tsukishima didn’t even pretend like he didn’t know what they were talking about, when you’re in college and someone says they have ‘special plans’ with their significant other, it’s pretty clear what they’re talking about. Not that Tsukishima was really concerned with what they did, if anything he spent the entirety of class tonight still thinking about a certain-

“Tsukki!” Speak of the devil.

Tsukishima didn’t even have to turn around to know who that voice was or where it was coming from. By now he was about halfway back to the dorm building, that was another downside about going to a school like this, there were so many buildings and sometimes you had to walk for more than fifteen minutes at a time to get from place to place. Right now he had just made his way past the gymnasium building, which that in itself was huge, it was a whole lot more than just a gym. It was more like multiple gyms, a weight room, a few lecture halls, and a swimming pool. Ever since finishing volleyball in high school Tsukishima didn’t really have a desire for sports anymore, he had only been in the building once when he was a first year, and that was just for the generic tour of the campus they make every first year go on.

“What do you want, Kuroo?” Tsukishima stopped in his tracks, but refusing to turn around to come face to face with the slightly shorter, yet still attractive man directly behind him.  
“Still cold as usual, it’s really late, you know?” Kuroo’s voice never ceased to drop that smug tone Tsukishima was still so used to hearing.

“I had a night class tonight, you should know that since you’re friends with Bokuto.”

“Hmm…” A slight ‘hum’ escaped Kuroo’s lips, Tsukishima didn’t have to look at him to know that he was smiling. “Actually you were just the person I was looking for; I need your help?”

“Help with what?” With a little bit of idle curiosity, Tsukishima turned around to face him. Kuroo had his hands on his hips and his messy ‘bedhead’ bangs right in front of one of his eyes, wearing sweats that were sporting the schools’ logo on them. Tsukishima hadn’t seen Kuroo outside of sweats, but every time he couldn’t help but think how good Kuroo looked in them. “Whatever you want, find someone else, it’s late and I would really like to get back to my dorm.” Tsukishima always considered himself playing hard to get, he wasn’t opposed to a relationship or anything, just didn’t see the point in one right now, if anything he wanted to live the boring ‘focus on your studies’ college life, but Yamaguchi put a stop to that real quick.

“I figured you’d say that, so I came prepared.” 

“Prepared for what?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at him as Kuroo leaned his body weight on the outside of the gymnasium building.

It was only for a brief moment, but Tsukishima caught a devilish smirk appear across Kuroo’s face as he lunged forward, grabbing Tsukishima’s school bag out of his hands. The bag itself wasn’t that important, it was the same old bag he used in high school, all it had in it were his books, pens, pencils, and various other school supplies, it pissed him off more than anything that Kuroo thought by taking it he could get Tsukishima to agree to whatever ‘thing’ he needed ‘help’ with.

“Kuroo, I don’t really want to play your little games right now.” Tsukishima reached forward, remembering that he does have the height advantage on Kuroo in this situation, but to no avail, because Kuroo is still stronger.

“You’ll get this back after you help me, you used to play volleyball, right? Then come help me for a minute.” You could practically see Kuroo’s fingers clawing into the straps of Tsukishima’s bag as he threw it over his shoulders. 

For a moment Tsukishima just considered leaving the bag, he could always borrow the books and pens from Yamaguchi until Kuroo decides to give it back, but he couldn’t resist the urge to follow the gorgeous man into the gym. It was late and he was certain they would be the only ones in there at this hour, so what exactly did he have planned?

“So how exactly do you know I used to play volleyball?” Tsukishima has always been reluctant to open up anything about himself to his newly made friends, the only ones at this school he even knew that were Yamaguchi, and as far as he was aware, Yamaguchi didn’t know Kuroo.

“Akaashi said he was driving around town a few months back, he drove right by the park and saw you playing with what looked like a group of friends in one of the open courts they have there. Funny, I wouldn’t have pegged you for a sports guy.” 

“It was just with my roommate, my brother and some of his friends, I used to play in high school.” Tsukishima had no idea why he was suddenly opening up to the man, but before he could even question himself, it was too late, the words were already flying off of his tongue, much like they did that night at the waffle house.

“What position did you play?”

“Middle blocker.”

“Oh, same as me.” Tsukishima thought that Kuroo seemed way too pleased about that as the two of them made their way into the center gymnasium, and just as he somewhat suspected, there was a net set up in the middle of the court, for volleyball.

“Alright I’m here, now what did you need help with?” Tsukishima shrugged as his eyes briefly scanned over the environment, it had been two years, but this place still looked the same as he remembered it from the tour. With rows and rows of bleachers, a few school banners hanging on the wall, and a few doors that led to what he presumed to be a hallway which led to the rest of the building.

Tsukishima watched as Kuroo placed his bag on the floor next to them, he thought about just grabbing it and taking off, he did have the advantage in height and in legs, but he decided not to, probably out of curiosity more than anything else.

“Tsukki, come here.” Kuroo made his way to the middle of the court, standing right in front of the net with a volleyball in hand as he beckoned Tsukishima over.

Sighing, Tsukishima walked over to him, there was no point in getting out of it now.

“Do you want me to set for you or something, I thought you were a middle blocker?” Maybe it was just because of how late it was, but Tsukishima felt himself growing more and more irritated. 

“Oh no, it’s not that, Tsukki, I just wanted you to jump some blocks for me.” His tone was sincere, flirty, like he knew that all he had to do was say the magic words and he could get whatever he wanted.

“Jump some blocks for you?” Tsukishima didn’t even have time in his mind to register what he said, before he knew the shorter, yet still stronger man was right behind him, the volleyball hitting the floor with a loud thud, as Kuroo’s hands lightly grabbed Tsukishima’s arms. 

Kuroo felt different than Tsukishima expected, like he figured the bedhead would have rough skin, a stern grip, volleyball players have to be rough in order to spike the ball, but Kuroo’s hands were gentle, like they were touching a delicate flower, a flower that could break and crumble to dust at any moment. Tsukishima’s body felt paralyzed as Kuroo lightly drug his nails up through the under sides of Tsukishima’s arms. He cursed himself for not wearing a long sleeve shirt tonight. 

“Tsukki, your arms are so soft and frail, I’m afraid I might break them.” Kuroo was shorter, but he still somehow managed to place his chin on Tsukishima’s shoulder, whispering in his ear as his warm breath tickled the side of Tsukishima’s face. It sent a chill up his spine, much like the ones he would get when Kuroo winked at him while he was working, but this somehow felt different. Maybe it was just the intimacy of being so close to someone, whenever he would go to the bar or club with Yamaguchi he had gotten close to people before, hell, he had even gotten closer than this, but none of those times felt like this. Was it just because it was Kuroo?

In that moment Tsukishima wanted to retort by saying something sarcastic and snarky, like ‘if you feel like you’ll break them then let go of me’, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. 

Just as soon as Tsukishima began to collect his thoughts, they were immediately gone again. Kuroo continued to coo in his ear, his hot breath turning Tsukishima’s face just as hot, it seemed to glow in a bright, almost lustful shade of pink. Thank goodness Kuroo couldn’t completely see his face from this angle. Kuroo’s hand began to travel up the underside of his arms, interlocking with his fingers as both Tsukishima and Kuroo placed their hands up against the net, fingers intertwining with the thin material. Tsukishima’s back was pressed up against Kuroo’s chest, and he thought for a brief moment he could feel himself subconsciously grinding himself into him.

“Tsukki…” Kuroo whispered in his ear once again as Tsukishima bit down on his lip, in an attempt to prevent himself from making any sort of embarrassing sound. He felt so ashamed right now, he had down this sort of thing in the club multiple times, but there was something just felt wrong about doing it inside of one of the school buildings, maybe it was just the subtleness of knowing someone could walk in on them at any minute. Kuroo was the captain, but Tsukishima wasn’t entirely convinced even he was allowed to be here this late.

Out of what he assumed was a habit, Tsukishima leaned his body back into Kuroo, if this was what Kuroo had in mind when he said ‘he wanted to have Tsukishima for dessert’, then in this moment he certainly wasn’t opposed to it. It was almost like he was drunken, intoxicated like he was when him and Yamaguchi would go out drinking, the only difference this time was that he was fully self-aware about what he was doing, he could feel Kuroo’s body up against his, his hot breath on the back of his neck, and most of all he could feel himself wanting more, secretly wanting Kuroo to plant the soft lips of his on his body. He would never admit something like that out loud of course, but they say that if you wish hard enough for something, it’ll come true.

Maybe there is a God, and if there is one then he granted his wish, because in that moment Tsukishima could clearly feel Kuroo’s soft lips pressing against his neck. They felt just like he imagined they would, soft, luscious, like they were a guilty pleasure in their own way.

Calling something so wrong that it feels right came to Tsukishima’s mind, Kuroo’s hands were warm and yet somehow so commanding, Tsukishima felt as if he was holding Kuroo’s hand that he could do anything, his nose felt soft and gentle as it brushed against Tsukishima’s neck. He tried to turn his head to the side slightly, not intentionally knowing that it would give Kuroo a better, exposing more of his neck so the shorter man would have more skin to kiss. His lips felt just as good as Tsukishima imagined they would when he eyed them over that night at the restaurant, soft, gentle, and moist. 

Tsukishima pondered if this was what real lust feels like, to want something so bad, despite how wrong it feels that you could almost taste it. Wait, was this wrong? Tsukishima had slept with men before, mainly just the general half drunken one-night-stand from being out drinking, but was there something that made it seem different with Kuroo? Maybe it was just the lack of alcohol, or the fact that he would for sure see him after the fact, or maybe it was just because Kuroo had attempted to flirt with him that night at the waffle house. Who knows? But this was certainly a new feeling for Tsukishima.

“Kuroo…” Tsukishima hadn’t meant for it to sound sexual or seducing in any way, he was merely trying to get his thoughts together again, get Kuroo’s attention, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. If anything, all it did was egg Kuroo on as Tsukishima’s fingers gripped the thin material of the net in front of them tighter, and Kuroo took a step forward with his foot, resting his thigh right in-between Tsukishima’s.

He wondered what Kuroo could feel from the angle and the positon they were both in, could Kuroo feel the subtle sweat and body heat that was starting to build up in Tsukishima’s body? Tsukishima tried to tell himself it was just from the heat of the lights in the gym and from being so close to another person, but deep down he knew that he wasn’t entirely convinced.

“Tsukki, come back to my place with me for the night?” Kuroo cooed again, his words still running softly through Tsukishima’s ears, his voice was low and seductive, that provoking voice that could probably convince anyone to do anything.

“What?” Tsukishima managed to knock Kuroo’s leg away from his as he turned around, getting some strength back for the first time in what felt like hours, but from looking at the clock on the wall of the gym, it had only been mere minutes.

He didn’t have to say anything else, not that he could even collect his thoughts probably when that signature grin spread across Kuroo’s face once again. Tsukishima leaned back, the back of his head hitting the thin lined of the volleyball net. Kuroo placed both of his hands on either side of Tsukishima’s face, like he was trapping him there, eagerly waiting for an answer.

“Tsukki, I like you. Come back with me to my dorm tonight.” Feeling his somewhat side come back to him, Tsukishima half thought about asking him if he was drunk, he had heard that line way too many times to know damn well no one would be dumb enough to say that when they’re sober, but something about him felt sincere.

Wait, Tsukki, I like you. 

Tsukishima replayed those words in his head again, they were the same words he heard off of those same lips in the waffle house, but didn’t quite register what they meant until now. Tsukishima had a few love confessions in his life, all of them were given to him when he was in high school, he always just dismissed them as some crushes. Growing up he never thought he stood out that much, apart from his height he was just a tall, smart guy with somewhat of a cold attitude. He always hated receiving any kind of confessions from people, not because he didn’t feel the same way, which was true, but because of that look they gave him, that look of knowing their feelings wouldn’t be reciprocated. He always thought ‘why confess something like that when you know your feelings won’t be returned?’ In truth, Tsukishima really never did like anyone in that way, probably because of that reason.

But with Kuroo, Kuroo was different. They didn’t have to be looking at each other, or touching each other (which happened a lot because Kuroo would always brush his legs up against Tsukishima in class), even just being in the same room as him made his heart face, why?

“Kuroo, I don’t think-“ Tsukishima wasn’t even beginning to collect his thoughts, but he could tell from the look in his eyes that Kuroo was persistent, the kind of person that needed and wanted an answer. In his mind, Tsukishima just thought he could turn him down lightly all he did all the other people, no real harm done, and maybe if fate allows it, a year or two from now they can meet at a club and have that dreaded one night stand, to get whatever this feeling in his chest is to go away.

“Aw, look Iwa-chan, love birds.” But before Tsukishima could even finish his sentence, they were interrupted by the sound of the gymnasium doors opening, and two slightly familiar figures standing in the doorway.

“I’d say they’re more like a cat devouring his pray.”

“Oikawa, Iwaizumi, for what do I owe the pleasure?” You could almost hear the displeasure in Kuroo’s voice as he straightened his posture up, taking his hands off of the net and letting Tsukishima step away, standing next to him but still not leaving the room.

Tsukishima didn’t really recognize the two new men in the room, he presumed they were students, both around the same height as Kuroo and both also wearing sweat gear. Other members of the volleyball team, maybe?

The first one, the one on the left, was slightly shorter than the other, he had a much softer face, pale skin, soft lips, slightly defined features. He cocked his head to the side and his wavy hair seemed to bounce with the motion. Had he met this guy before? He seemed to stand out, more than anyone else in the room (besides Kuroo), if he had any classes with him he might have remembered someone like him. He had a very distinctive face and voice, like the kind of person who demands to be the center of attention. On top of that, he was quite pretty, just like Kuroo he was probably the kind of guy that both girls and boys couldn’t leave alone if they tried.

The guy standing next to him was taller, darker skin and more masculine features, you got the sense right away that he was the kind of guy who worked out. He had messy hair, not nearly as messy as Kuroo’s, but you could still see a slight resemblance from his bedhead. Now this guy, Tsukishima was certain he’d never seen before. He didn’t have anything about him that made him particularly stand out, but standing next to the ‘pretty boy’ as Tsukishima dubbed him there on the spot, still drew just as much attention to him.

“Now, now don’t be so hasty.” The shorter one, the ‘pretty boy’ spoke, his voice was calm and slightly whiney, you definitely didn’t expect a voice like that to come out of a guy with his face, but then again maybe you did because of his attractive demeanor. “You know you’re not supposed to be here after hours, especially with someone who’s not on the team.”  
“Well…” Kuroo clenched his fists at his side, it was a new look for him, something Tsukishima didn’t see before. “I could say the same for you. I’m the captain so I was just having a friend of mine help me lock up.” Kuroo gestured towards Tsukishima.

In this situation Tsukishima felt awkward, like he just walked into a fight right before it started. Whatever was going on, these two men, especially Kuroo and the ‘pretty boy’ really didn’t like each other.

“Hmm…” ‘Pretty boy’ smirked, almost like he was pleased with that answer. “Iwa-chan and I were working out in the spare gym.” He threw his arms around the other man from behind, almost like he was hugging him, the other guy seemed unfazed by it as he kept a solace expression on his face, like he was used to it. “But last time I checked glasses wasn’t on the team, you know coaches’ rules about this sort of thing, I would hate for you to lose your spot as captain over something like this.” You could hear the fake in his voice without  
even trying to. There was for sure some tension between them.

“Yes, well.” Tsukishima decided to speak up, more than anything he just wanted to see the look of annoyance on ‘pretty boy’s face. “I was just passing through to get my bag that Kuroo held onto for me.” He still didn’t know what was with Kuroo, but he wasn’t about to let these two to be the two to knock Kuroo down a peg.

“Is that so?” ‘Pretty boy’ seemed unamused as he let go of the other boy and filled his hair. “Well, I would hate to make a big deal about something like this, Iwa-chan and I were just passing through. But…” His voice became filled with malice. “I would hate for our dear captain to be in trouble over flirting with someone when he’s supposed to be cleaning up.” Normally a comment like that would have been just a simple tease from someone like Bokuto, but coming off of ‘pretty boy’s lips almost seemed like the comment sting.

“Would you even call that flirting? Those two were a few minutes away from sucking face.” The taller one finally spoke, his voice was just as calm as Tsukishima imagined it would be. Looking at them, the two of them seemed to have almost opposite personalities. 

“Iwa-chan, don’t be jealous. Is that your way of telling me that you want to suck face when we get back to the dorm?” ‘Pretty boy’ completely ignored Tsukishima and Kuroo as he brought his full attention to ‘Iwa-chan’.

“I never said that.” He slouched, almost embarrassed even though the look on his face didn’t change.

“Anyway, Iwa-chan and I will be off. But be careful captain, in more way than one.” His voice sounded half threatening as he threw his arms back around the other man, and with a snarky smile and a slight wave, they both vanished from sight.

“Sorry about that.” Kuroo placed his hand on the back of his head, like he was trying to laugh it off.

“You want to tell me who those two were?” Though Tsukishima already had an idea based on the conversation. Tsukishima walked over to the door where Kuroo had dropped his bag only moments earlier, trying to shake the thoughts from his head about how close they had just gotten.

“They’re Oikawa Tooru and Iwaizumi Hajime, two other members on the volleyball team. As I’m sure you could tell, Oikawa wanted to be captain, and I got that spot from him, he’s a little hostile but he just likes to get under peoples’ skin. Oh, and I guess the two of them are a thing, like Bokuto and Akaashi, except far more annoying.” That was pretty much what Tsukishima thought.

“Are all the people on the volleyball team seeing each other?” Tsukishima didn’t mean for that comment to be snarky at all, it just sort of came out that way. Maybe it was just his subconscious way of lingering the conversation. He still didn’t know much about Kuroo and despite what he tried to convince himself of, he didn’t hate the guy.

“Maybe you should join and find out.” And just like that, the Cheshire smirk was back, sending that same stupid chill down Tsukishima’s spine.

Half filled with curiosity and half with annoyance, Tsukishima shrugged. “Sorry, but I’m going to have to pass.”

“Well, you should at least come to a game of ours soon, Tsukki.” 

The more he heard that nickname Kuroo gave him the less affected by it he was, like he got used to it, even longing to hear his name fall off of Kuroo’s lips again and again.  
“I’m already going to your party next weekend, if I see you anymore I’ll be tired of your face.” Tsukishima threw his bag over his shoulder, he wasn’t sure what he quite meant with that comment as he made his way to the door. It wasn’t like his usual sarcastic self, was that his way of telling Kuroo that he liked him? No, impossible.

“Tsukki!” Kuroo threw his arms around Tsukishima from behind, a lot like Oikawa did to Iwaizumi only moments ago. “Is that your way of saying you like my face?” He words seemed to pierce Tsukishima’s ears, they were cunning and playful. He never did really reject Kuroo to go home with him tonight, but since the mood changed he figured it was no longer on his mind.

“I never said that. Now will you please let go of me? it’s late and I would like to get back to my dorm before the sun rises.”

“Well then at least let me walk you back to your dorm.” He let go of Tsukki and took a few steps in front of him, like he was waiting for him. “What kind of date would I be if I didn’t escort you home?” He winked.

“Date?” Tsukishima spoke the word softly, questioning it more than anything else. This wasn’t a date, he was forced to come here, and then just coincidently found himself liking the way Kuroo touched him, there was nothing more than that, or so he thought. “Plus, I don’t even know you.” That signature scowl that he always had on his face returned, for most people the second they saw it they would leave him alone, but Kuroo was different, Tsukishima knew that more than anything by now, like he took his scowl as a challenge more than anything. He seemed to give him a look that said ‘I’m going to make you smile.’

“Then, let’s get to know each other on the way to the dorms, Tsukki.”

He had said it before and he would say it again, Kuroo sure was persistent. 

“That won’t be necessary, I’m sure we will be seeing each other at the party.”

“Fair point.” Kuroo shrugged, agreeing with him. “I’ll text you later, though.”

“You don’t have my number.” Tsukishima kept his eyes glued to the ground as he slowly walked his way past Kuroo.

“Oh, but I do. I got it off of Bokuto.” He snickered.

Freezing in his place, Tsukishima stopped and remembered he did give his number to Bokuto, mainly to get him to stop nagging him every other day for it. He originally didn’t see the harm, if Bokuto kept texting him he could just block his number, plus, Bokuto acted pretty much like a kid as it was, knowing his type he would probably forget about it within a day or two. He was so wrong.

Tsukishima snapped his head up, returning that scowl to lock eyes with Kuroo. “I’m going to murder that owl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's New Years and while everyone else is out partying, I'm here writing KuroTsuki fan fiction lol.


	3. The first move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well, I’d appreciate if you help me find him, he’s a terrible drunk, he’ll sleep with anyone if you get him drunk enough.”
> 
> “Oh really?” That provoking grin returned. “And what do I get if I help you find him?”
> 
> “Well, what do you want?” Tsukishima wasn’t entirely thinking his responses, his thoughts were jumbled, half with finding Yamaguchi, and half with thinking about Kuroo, right now he would probably agree to anything the man said, anything.
> 
> “Well, we never did get to continue our conversation from the other night, the one in the gym.” By now Kuroo was using his natural charms to his advantage, running a smooth finger along the lines of Tsukishima’s shirt, feeling the thin material against his fingertip, and sending an unknown shiver across Tsukishima. “I’d like it very much if we could get some alone time together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, didn't expect to be updating this so soon, but I got really motivated last night, this chapter pretty much wrote itself haha!

“Tsukki! What do you mean you’re not going?” Yamaguchi peered forward on his tip toes, as he stood face to face with Tsukishima in their dorm room apartment. There was no space between them and you could practically hear the shocked expression in his voice.

Despite all of Tsukishima’s extensive steps, and I mean very extensive, he was unable to find a way to get out of going to Kuroo’s welcoming party. 

He originally planned on working that night, whether that be actually working or just saying he had to work while he spent the rest of the night chilling in the library reading whichever book on the shelf looked the most interesting, but thanks to a certain red-headed co-worker that decided to call in and specifically request to work the evening shift tonight, thanks Hinata, Tsukishima was out of options. Well, he could still do the library thing, but Yamaguchi, his long time best friend and roommate, was abolishing that plan. 

If Kuroo was persistent, then Yamaguchi was one step above that. He had to give him credit, when he first mentioned the party to the shorter man, his face lit up with a smile, despite his somewhat more quiet, calm, and go-lucky demeanor he gave of, Yamaguchi was quite the opposite. He’s the one who got Tsukishima into going to parties after all. They say you always have to watch out for the quiet ones, and Yamaguchi was proof of that. It was quite scary at times.

But, it wasn’t just that Yamaguchi could be scary, him and Tsukishima had a bit of history. Apart from being best friends, ever since that fateful day when they were kids, when Tsukishima stood up to some bullies that were bullying Yamaguchi, the two of them seemed to have a connection that no one else could interfere with. 

Even in high school, Tsukishima didn’t have a problem realizing that he was attracted to guys, even so he had less of a problem admitting it to Yamaguchi, who accepted him with open arms at the time. And it came as no surprise to Tsukishima that Yamaguchi was only ever interested in men. Throughout high school and in the early days of college the two of them ended up sleeping together once or twice. But, that was a story for a completely different time.

“I already told you, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima’s voice was just as bland as it normally was, showing little to no emotion as he averted eye contact with his best friend, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I’d rather not go someplace where I would have the opportunity to be alone with him.” 

Tsukishima told Yamaguchi everything, most of it reluctantly, but still, everything. Somewhere along the way of filling him in about the events that took place the night he was working at the waffle house, and sitting next to him and class, and of course the events in the gym, Tsukishima started referring to Kuroo as him. Mainly just as a way to not have to say his name, the last thing he wanted Kuroo to know was that him and his roommate were talking about him.

“Tsukki, you really need to stop making everything sound like you’re quoting it from a book.” Yamaguchi clenched his fists, for a brief moment Tsukishima thought Yamaguchi resembled the same amount of enthusiasm Bokuto had. 

Tsukki. Ever since hearing Kuroo say his name like that, no matter how many times he heard it by now, he couldn’t hear it the same way again. Even coming out of his best friends’ mouth, it sounded so different, maybe it was just Yamaguchi’s level of enthusiasm, and Kuroo’s provoking smile, but something was different whenever he heard that name coming from someone who wasn’t Kuroo.

Tuning Yamaguchi out, mainly out of habit, Tsukishima did care for his best friend, but he had a habit of talking and lecturing. The worst part about having a best friend like Yamaguchi was that whenever he lectured you, he was always right.

Tsukishima’s eyes began to wonder around the small dorm room they shared, it was nothing impressive. Well, calling it a ‘dorm room’ was a bit of a stretch, it was more like a small apartment on the campus grounds, complete with two bedrooms (one Tsukishima and Yamaguchi shared, and the other for their other roommates, Nishinoya and Asahi), there was a small living room, or ‘common area’ as they called it during the tour, and a usable kitchen, though most college students, especially boys, pretty much survive off of microwavable meals and whatever is being served in the cafeteria.

The room they shared was small, about fifteen across and twelve feet wide, complete with a set of bunk beds and a desk. Tsukishima took the top bunk because Yamaguchi insisted that he was afraid of heights, but it was still just as comfortable, though a little awkward given Tsukishima’s height.

Another big perk about rooming with your best friend is that you don’t feel awkward about bringing your things from home. Yamaguchi always knew about Tsukishima’s obsession with dinosaurs from a young age, and he had no problem with him bringing some of his figures with him, and displaying them proudly in the dorm room. He always kept at least one on the desk and a handful of others scattered around the room, and let’s not even get started on the posters he hung on the walls.

But, apart from Tsukishima’s collection, their room was scattered with textbooks and papers, and various assortments of shoes and clothes lining the floor. Seriously, how did they expect two boys in their early twenties to live comfortably in a place like this?

It was a lot more than just a cramped room though, Nishinoya and Asahi had it a lot worse. Tsukishima didn’t talk to them that much, or rarely leave his and Yamaguchi’s room when he was home, but from what he saw, he knew Nishinoya was the libero on the volleyball team, and Asahi was a medical major, there room was a constant assortment of sweaty gym clothes and books. Not to mention Nishinoya had one of the loudest personalities he had ever seen, and strangest hairstyles. He was known on campus as the ‘anime boy’ because his style reflected that of an anime character.

Asahi on the other hand was a completely different story, he had glasses for what seemed like the entire day, they always say people that major in the medical field are busy, but they never tell you how busy until you live with them. His personality was the complete opposite of Nishinoya’s, where Nishinoya’s was loud and out-going, like a party animal, Asahi’s was calm and quiet, which said a lot considering Asahi looked like a big, scary giant with facial hair.

Right now both Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were standing in the doorway, Tsukishima’s arms crossed as he brought himself back down to reality, back to paying attention to whatever Yamaguchi was saying. He hadn’t realized it, but this was the first time in over ten minutes that he hadn’t been thinking, or heard Kuroo’s name. 

Kuroo. Well, until now.

“Don’t worry, Tsukki, after a few drinks you’ll be fine.” There was that persistent voice in Yamaguchi again, he did know Tsukishima pretty well, so well in fact that he knew as soon as Tsukishima was two or more drinks in, there was a good chance he would forget worrying about Kuroo.

Well, it wasn’t so much ‘worrying about Kuroo’ as it was ‘worrying about what would happen being alone and drunk with him’. It was nearly impossible to forget how close they became the other night in the gym, if anything Tsukishima’s body still felt hot in the places he touched, his arms, his hands, even on his neck and shoulders where Kuroo kissed him. Tsukishima didn’t know if he would be able to handle that again, he was a terrible drunk, the kind of person who, if you get him drunk enough, he would probably sleep with anyone who would flirt with him, including Kuroo. Hell, he might even be the one who makes the move first. He couldn’t let that happen.

Tsukishima sighed, resting his hands on his hips. He knew damn well there was no use arguing with the man by this point, Yamaguchi would drag Tsukishima out the door if he kept refusing, and if that didn’t work, he would enlist the help of Asahi and Nishinoya. Since Nishinoya was on the volleyball team, there was no way that he wasn’t already going to this as is.

“Alright, fine.” The tone in Tsukishima’s voice dropped to a more somber tone, like he really didn’t want to do this. Like some kind being forced to sit through a boring movie they really don’t want to see, all because their parents couldn’t find a babysitter in time.

As soon as he said that Yamaguchi’s face lit up with a smile again, like an excited little kid of Christmas. “Great! Now go shower! We only have a little over an hour until it starts.”

“Why do I need to shower? I just took one yesterday.” Tsukishima questioned, lowering arms down to his sides.

“Because if Kuro- I mean, him AKA the attractive man that you secretly want to eat you is going to be there, you have to smell like something other than books and syrup.” 

Tsukishima stared blankly at him for a minute. Even Tsukishima couldn’t deny that his life was boring, when he wasn’t studying he was working at that damn waffle house, sure Yamaguchi tried to drag him out to parties as often as he could, but the amount of parties they seemed to go to now were few and far between, this was probably the first one they went to in over a two months. Was the only reason he was dreading it because Kuroo would be there?

“What did you just say? I don’t want him to eat me.” Hearing his words and Yamaguchi’s words out loud, Tsukishima couldn’t help the shade of embarrassment that was spreading on his face.

A slight playful smile appeared on Yamaguchi’s face. “Tsukki, I’ve know you since we were little, I think I know you better than you do, to your favorite color, your dinosaur obsession, to what foods you like, and especially the boys you’re interested in. You’ve been talking about Kuroo non-stop since that night at the restaurant. Plus, if you don’t want him to eat you, then I’ll eat him.”

Tsukishima stared again, almost in awe as Yamaguchi disappeared from his vision into the kitchen. Yamaguchi’s face is so pleasant, but he can be so scary.

 

 

 

“I don’t even know where this guy lives.” Tsukishima groaned as him and Yamaguchi made their way on the sidewalk to the directions Bokuto texted them. Tsukishima thought briefly about how in a situation like this, maybe giving Bokuto his number wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Bokuto and Akaashi, and by some extent Kuroo, all said they considered Tsukishima his friend by this point. He had classes with all of them, and they always made it a point to sit with them in any of them were in the cafeteria at the same time. Tsukishima knew very little about them, apart from the information they offered up, or things Bokuto would just spit out during class, but it was enough. Enough to call them somewhere in-between acquaintances and friends as far as Tsukishima was concerned.

After his shower, him and Yamaguchi got dressed, they were ‘dressed to the nines’ as Yamaguchi put it. He hadn’t even heard word from Bokuto about what kind of party this was, just that it was a welcoming party. Were ‘fancy’ clothes even required for this sort of thing? Most parties Tsukishima had gone to were casual wear, though for most of those, the clothes didn’t really stay on for very long.

They weren’t wearing suits, but both Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had on colored assortments of dress clothes, with Tsukishima wearing a dark, ocean blue button-up shirt and Yamaguchi wearing a dark, forest green one. Their pants were identical and pure black, they were more like jeans than pants though, Tsukishima wearing extra tight ones. He originally didn’t think anything about it when he first put them on, but now he was starting to regret that decision, he could already hear Kuroo’s voice inside of his head telling him ‘he couldn’t wait to get him out of those pants’. Just thinking about that made another chill run up his spine, and this one wasn’t from the cold wind on the chilly evening.

Prior to leaving, Tsukishima noted that both Asahi and Nishinoya were still in their room, he thought it was strange since he knew Nishinoya was never the type of person who would miss an opportunity to go to a party like this. When Tsukishima asked them if they had any plans on going, Nishinoya simply gave a coy ‘we’ll be showing up later, we have some plans to take care of first’. From his experience, whenever Nishinoya says ‘plans’, he’s usually referring to some intimate alone time with Asahi. 

Both Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, and Nishinoya and Asahi got paired up to room together in the same dorm since their first year at college, their personalities seemed to mix well, to Tsukishima’s surprise, and they decided to continue rooming together for the rest of their years here. It was a lot better than having to room with two new people every new semester, that Tsukishima knew he would probably end up hating. 

But on top of that, Nishinoya and Asahi were in a relationship, they had been since the first year here. Tsukishima always thought it was odd, not that they didn’t make a good couple or anything, but the two of them had such opposite personalities, and the height difference, Nishinoya was probably one of the shorter people Tsukishima had ever met, and Asahi, though not as tall as Tsukishima, still towered over Nishinoya. I guess you could say that the two sort of balance each other out in the way that only a significant other can.

Bringing himself back into reality once again, Tsukishima looked up, being met with a sight that he wasn’t expecting.

When Bokuto texted him the address of him, Akaashi’s, and now Kuroo’s apartment, he was expecting something that replicated his and Yamaguchi’s. he was wrong. Right now both him and Yamaguchi were standing in the driveway of what looked like a million, if not billion, dollar bachelor pad. He was half expecting a butler or a maid to greet him when he opened the door.

From the outside it looked like a condo with multiple floors, painted all white with windows lining the whole place, making it relatively easy to see through. On the inside it looked like your typical college party, drinking, people dancing to loud music that felt like it was shaking the whole atmosphere from the outside, dancing, grinding, and of course several people making out in what appeared to be a vigorous game of spin the bottle.

From the outside, Tsukishima began to scan the numerous people inside, looking for that outline of bedhead he was oh so familiar with by this point. Knowing Kuroo he would probably wear something overly fancy to his own welcoming party. Probably with Bokuto and Akaashi in two, maybe even a few girls and guys following him, hoping to get lucky with him tonight. Still, Tsukishima couldn’t decide if he wanted to find him so he could avoid him, or find him so he could run up to him and kiss him. Maybe finishing what they started the other night in the gym wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi’s familiar voice brought Tsukishima out of whatever trance he was in, his eyes still casually over everyone, not laying a single sight on the bedhead, or the owl who he knew wouldn’t be far behind him. “Ready to go inside?”

Tsukishima didn’t even have to answer him, not that he want to anyway. There was no doubt that Yamaguchi could read his facial expressions before he even opened his mouth. Sometimes there’s really no point in talking if someone already knows what you’re going to say.

Inside was just as it looked from the outside, a hot mess of bodies dancing to whatever pop song was playing over the speakers, Tsukishima really couldn’t tell which one it was, though, judging by the looks on people’s faces, they couldn’t either. 

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi squeezed through a tight group of people, making their up the stairs to the second floor of the building, still with no sign of Kuroo. Tsukishima not sure if he should feel relieved or not from that. Upstairs the floors were made out of wood, a light tapping noise emerging every time you walked on them, the walls were completely white, like the ones he was so used to in his dorm room, but something about them seemed cleaner, like this place was brand new. Now that he thought about it, since when did this school offer apartments this nice? Even if they were off campus.

There were various paintings of abstract art on the walls, most of them Tsukishima didn’t recognize, not that he was an art major or anything. The only thing he did recognize was the giant black flat screen TV that hung on the wall in what looked like the living room, surrounded by a gaming console and numerous plants that were probably imported from somewhere in Europe.

Next to them stood a kitchen, which looked moderately small compared to the rest of the place, with red solo cups littering the floor, and the smell of beer and other various alcohols making it almost impossible to breath as you passed through. Tsukishima guessed they just missed out on an intense round of beer pong, based on all the beer that appeared to be spilt onto the floor instead of actually in the cups. A few people, none of which he recognized (thank goodness), laid passed out on the kitchen floor, proving to be quite the difficult obstacle to get around. 

On past the piles of sleeping bodies, was a dance door, the lights were low, making it impossible to see anything in front of your face, or see anyone if you were looking for someone specific, which Tsukishima was, if he hadn’t have felt Yamaguchi’s hand clinging tightly to the shoulder of his shirt, he would have had to turn around every few feet to make sure he was still there.

“Rough night already, huh?” A familiar voice cooed behind him.

Without even looking or thinking, Tsukishima just responded casually, as if Yamaguchi was talking to him. “Yeah, it’s a lot more crowded than I thought it would be.”

“I see you dressed up for the occasion, Tsukki.” 

It was like Tsukishima just realized his mistake, hearing those words he was so used to coming out of a familiar voice, almost sent a tingling feeling run through his body. He knew it wasn’t a stranger, but it sure as hell wasn’t Yamaguchi.

“Kuroo?” He turned his head to the side, meeting face to face with the person who had ahold of his arm. He wasn’t so much a question, since he already knew who it was.

“Don’t look so disappointed, were you expecting someone else?” Kuroo teased him, pulling Tsukishima close by the arm. It wasn’t uncomfortable at all, Kuroo was gentle, and he seemed like the kind of guy who knew what the other persons’ boundaries were, never going too far, just far enough to get to the tipping point of those boundaries. 

“Actually I was, have you seen Yamaguchi?” That conflicting feeling returned into Tsukishima’s mind again, half happy to see Kuroo, and half dreading it. The only way he was able to distract himself he gorgeous man with the cat-like eyes standing in front of him was to remember his freckle-faced friend, the one he came here with tonight, the one who could be very problematic if he drank too much. Him and Yamaguchi were drinking buddies, and if Yamaguchi got out of hand, Tsukishima needed to be there to get him back on his feet, and to stop him from going home with just anyone.

“You mean freckles-chan?” Kuroo teased again, getting a stern glare from Tsukishima.

“You know him?”

“Sort of, I have a class with him. He doesn’t really talk that much. If anything, I just know that he’s your roommate from Bo’s mad eavesdropping skills.” The music was so loud it was almost impossible to make out every single word that Kuroo said – almost. If anything, Tsukishima had gotten pretty good at reading lips over the years, mainly from listening to music while people were talking to him, and this was not unlike that.

“Well, I’d appreciate if you help me find him, he’s a terrible drunk, he’ll sleep with anyone if you get him drunk enough.”

“Oh really?” That provoking grin returned. “And what do I get if I help you find him?”

“Well, what do you want?” Tsukishima wasn’t entirely thinking his responses, his thoughts were jumbled, half with finding Yamaguchi, and half with thinking about Kuroo, right now he would probably agree to anything the man said, anything.

“Well, we never did get to continue our conversation from the other night, the one in the gym.” By now Kuroo was using his natural charms to his advantage, running a smooth finger along the lines of Tsukishima’s shirt, feeling the thin material against his fingertip, and sending an unknown shiver across Tsukishima. “I’d like it very much if we could get some alone time together.”

“This is your party, I’m sure it will be very bad if the guest of honor doesn’t show up.” Tsukishima scoffed, that scowl returning to his face.

“Technically it’s Bo’s party, so I know he won’t mind if we step out for a few minutes, or hours. Plus, what if I told you I know where freckles-chan is?”

Again, without thinking, Tsukishima just blurted out whatever came into his mind. “Where is he?” It was strange, he hadn’t even had anything to drink yet, normally he only blurts things out like this when he gets drunk. Is it possible to get drunk off of the atmosphere like this?

“Well, I see you get right down to the point, Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed, making eye contact with Tsukishima as he gestured over to his right.

Tsukishima blinked for a moment, before his eyes were able to make out the familiar almost silhouette of his best friend, who was now holding a red solo cup in his hand, and grinding on the crotch of some unfamiliar man. The guy himself was hard to make out in the dark, but Tsukishima could definitely see dark brown hair and large muscles on the guy, with his hands running over Yamaguchi’s clothes body. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t worried about him, but Yamaguchi was a smart guy, as long as he didn’t too much. How did he even get separated from Tsukishima anyway?

Off in the same direction that Yamaguchi was in, Tsukishima could see a few familiar faces sitting on the loveseat a few feet away, Oikawa and Iwaizumi, the somewhat flirty and jerk-ish members of the volleyball team that interrupted Kuroo the other night at the gym, to this day Tsukishima still can’t decide if that was a blessing in disguise or not. The two of them were on top of each other, with Oikawa sitting in Iwaizumi’s lap, sucking face as both their hands roamed over each others bodies, Iwaizumi’s venturing further down south, until a feint ‘Iwa-chan’ could be heard over the music. 

Next to them there was an array of various faces all doing roughly the same things, Tsukishima’s eyes briefly wandered over a boy with light gray hair who was sitting in the lap of a man with a man who had darker hair, and some killer thighs that were more than noticeable in the short shorts he was wearing. Tsukishima thought he recognized them from his Lit class, it’s pretty rare to see someone with gray hair these days, so they always stuck out to him. If a person is worth remembering, Tsukishima will remember them.

“Don’t worry.” Kuroo’s voice spoke again, sounded calm, like he was trying to sound like the voice of reason. “I’ll tell Bokuto and Akaashi to keep an eye on him.” He winked again, out of force of habit, Tsukishima scowled, but all that did was intensify the look in Kuroo’s eyes.

“Thanks.” Tsukishima could barely muster words over the loud music, but he believed a thank you was in order. Kuroo didn’t quite give off the vibes of a super nice guy, but he wasn’t a jerk, he looked after his friends, and by association, his friends’ friends. 

“Let’s go somewhere.” And there he was again, being mysterious as he moved his hand off of Tsukishima’s shirt and yanked him back into the kitchen. It wasn’t nearly as crowded, but it still stank of beer, and sleeping bodies on the floor. “For you.” Kuroo smiled as he walked behind the island counter that was in the middle of the smaller room, grabbing a beer out of the keg and pouring into a red cup.

Tsukishima reluctantly took the cup from his hand, bringing it up to nose to sniff it. It didn’t smell like anything, well, anything besides beer, not that Tsukishima had a lot of experience with people trying to put something in his drinks before. There was no doubt in his mind that Kuroo was up to something, but he wouldn’t go that far.

“You didn’t put anything in this, right?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, questioning him.

Kuroo gasped, doing that ‘pretending to be hurt’ thing he did back at the waffle house on the night they first met. “Tsukki, I’m wounded. Do you really think I would try such a thing?” He smirked, changing from the fake act to that sinister grin. “You haven’t had anything to drink yet, right? You look far too serious.”

“I don’t know.” Tsukishima averted eye contact with the man, who’s hair was still just as notably messy as it always had been. 

Kuroo was much more visible now in the light, looks like Tsukishima and Yamaguchi aren’t the only ones who decided to dress up for the event. Kuroo was dawned in a pure black button-up dress shirt with matching pants, they were just as, if not more tight as Tsukishima’s, it actually looked quite well with his white jacket that hung on the curvature of his body, bending perfectly into his skin. Tsukishima wasn’t really familiar with brand name designer clothes (not that he should have been), but it looked like something he would see when he was flipping through channels during fashion week or something, definitely not the kind of thing the average college student can afford. It was accented with black buttons that shined until the light of the kitchen, and was that a gold Rolex on his wrist? What did Kuroo’s parents do for a living again? Or was that just a gift from Bokuto?

Realizing the Kuroo was probably a persistent and patient man, Tsukishima decided to take a risk and bring the alcohol up to his lips, sipping it briefly. He really wasn’t one for beer, he was more of a whiskey, or over-priced fancy cocktail at the bar kind of person, regular store bought beer just didn’t do it for him. The only thing that made the after taste slightly better was knowing that it came from Kuroo, and the smile he kept on his face as he watched Tsukishima drink.

“Just so you know.” Tsukishima placed the cup down on the table, if Kuroo wanted to get him drunk, he was going to have to do better than that. “I’m not sleeping with you.” Saying that out loud sounded like it came so out of left field, but if Kuroo’s actions at the waffle house and at the gym were any indication, it was pretty clear what he wanted. Honestly, if Kuroo was anyone else he might have actually tried sleeping with him. But Tsukishima knew from experience that sleeping with a guy that over confident was a terrible idea.

“I never said you had to, Tsukki.” Kuroo almost laughed, his face turning a subtle shade of pink. Then again, maybe it was just the lights, or the reflection from all the red cups in the room. “I think we should take this relationship slow, don’t you?” There was that wink again, and just like that Tsukishima felt like his body was at the mercy of whatever Kuroo said, he felt this way that night at the gym too, that Kuroo could tell him to do anything and he would do it. What was this feeling?

“Relationship?” Tsukishima felt his body start to grow hot, but he still managed to muster out a word or two.

Kuroo chuckled from across the counter, walking around and standing face to face with Tsukishima. He was still shorter than Tsukishima, but that still didn’t make him any less threatening. 

It almost felt like Kuroo ignored what Tsukishima said, placing an arm swiftly around the taller man’s back, he could feel that same radiating heat off of Kuroo’s body that he felt that night in the gym, hot, almost intoxicating, he had to do everything in his power to try to pull himself away, to no avail of course.

“That is of course, unless you want to.” Kuroo got that glint in his eyes again, like in that moment they turned predatory, like the hunter who finally caught his prey and was deciding if he should make them suffer slowly or end them quickly. 

Tsukishima had to force himself to look away again, who knows what would happen if he kept his eyes locked onto this man. He wouldn’t mind looking at his eyes forever, but the knot in his stomach was telling him to stay away from Kuroo, that he was trouble. But then again, maybe Tsukishima wanted trouble.

“What’s this? You were practically forcing yourself on me the other night, and now you want to say it?” Despite his current demeanor, Kuroo did give off the air of a gentlemen, someone who wanted to be well aware of what the other person wanted before taking that step.

“I’m a lot of things, Tsukki, but I’m not an asshole.”

“I find that hard to believe.” Tsukishima brought his face back to face him, noticing that same look still in Kuroo’s eyes. “I don’t even know you that well anyway, why make this seem like were both secretly in love with each other.” He didn’t mean for it to come out like that, he meant to say ‘like’, but it just slipped out, and he knew the look on his face told Kuroo he immediately regretted his decision, but that didn’t matter, because the look on Kuroo’s face was one of shock and pleasure.

“Oh, so you do like me?”

“I never said that.”

“You just implied it.” It felt like Kuroo’s grip on Tsukishima’s back got tighter, holding his lower stomach right against Kuroo’s chest. “You know, they say that when we guess at other people’s motives, we only reveal our own.”

“Did you read that from a book?”

“I actually overheard it in a video game one of my roommates was playing, but I think it still applies here.”

“As I said before, I don’t know you.” Tsukishima could tell Kuroo was the one who was in charge of this conversation, he knew he was only a few sentences away from having his lips pressed firmly against the bedheads. If anything, he was just hoping he could find a distraction before then, that or one of them would bring up the courage to make the first move.

“Well then, ask away, Tsukki.” Kuroo teased him with a mocking tone in his voice. As if he could just get Kuroo to reveal anything about himself.

“Alright, I’ll bite.” Tsukishima pondered for a moment, he didn’t want to ask Kuroo anything too personal, for fear it would ruin the mood. Wait, ruin the mood? What mood?

Was this the turning point? The point when you become so close to someone, so close and self aware of how close you are, but yet you still want more? That’s how Tsukishima felt right now, he was dangerously close to Kuroo, but instead of backing away, fleeing like he knew he could, he decided that he wanted more, he wanted more of Kuroo, wanted to know Kuroo, and most of all, he wanted to kiss Kuroo.

“Where’d you get the clothes and the watch?” Tsukishima would have been lying if he said that hadn’t been on his mind these past several minutes, and it seemed as good of a place to start as any while he collected his thoughts again.

“Oh.” Kuroo dropped one hand from Tsukishima’s waist, still maintaining a tight grip on him. Had volleyball players always been this strong? “This was a present from Bo, you don’t know this but my birthday was actually a while ago and he never got a chance to give me this gift until recently. The jacket used to be my fathers, I’m a bit bigger than he is, so it’s a tight fit.”

“Where did Bokuto get the money for a Rolex?” Tsukishima just said the next thing that came to his mind, and he still refused to call Bokuto ‘Bo’, something that name seemed to weird to roll off of his tongue.

“You don’t know? Well, I guess Bo really doesn’t offer that much information about himself. His mother is a writer, and his father is an artist, but he gets his athletic talent from his uncle, who’s on a national soccer team. When he started going to school here his parents had this off-campus condo built for him, and his monthly allowance is enough to pay for multiple student tuitions.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense.” Nothing seemed to faze Tsukishima anymore, he just sort of went with the flow with everything. So Bokuto was rich, what else is new? It’s not like the students around here really gave off the ‘normal’ vibe. 

It’s true that Bokuto talked a lot, but the information he actually said about himself was few and far between, if anything, Tsukishima knew more about Bokuto’s relationship with Akaashi than he did about him as a person. Growing up with a rich, successful family probably did leave him with family problems, but it wasn’t Tsukishima’s job to pry into the lives of his new friends. Wait, friends?

“Okay, my turn.” Kuroo snapped Tsukishima’s attention back to him with a sly grin. “Are you single?”

“What kind of a question is that?” Tsukishima almost laughed at him. To be fair, he did just ask him about Bokuto, but that was more about curiosity than it was personal.

“A serious one. You asked me about my clothes, and now I want to know about you.”

“How do clothes and a person’s relationship status even relate to each other?”

“Well, I think they’re both very personal… Tsukki.” It was almost like Kuroo was trying to seduce him, implying that his clothes had a connection to whatever his relationship with Kuroo was. Tsukishima was half expecting Kuroo to pull that cheesy ‘your clothes would look nice on my bedroom floor’ line.

Kuroo used his free hand, the one that he lowered from Tsukishima’s back, and started drawing light circles at the front of Tsukishima’s shirt. The material was just thin enough where he could feel Kuroo’s fingertips pressing onto his skin, he had never noticed it before, but Kuroo’s nails are actually kind of sharp, so sharp that he wouldn’t mind having them dig marks down his body all night long. Ugh, Tsukishima almost cringed at the thought of thinking something like that.

“Is this your way of trying to seduce me?” Tsukishima decided to be blunt, the only way to deal with a guy like Kuroo was to surprise him.

“Well, I’d say it’s working.” He winked again, flashing a perfect smile as his eyes continued to have that look of hunger and lust in them, as his fingers continued to move up and down Tsukishima’s stomach.

“And what makes you think it’s working?” Of all the things, Tsukishima prided himself on being a rock, he was hard to read for a reason.

“Well, you haven’t said no to me yet, or tried to push me off.” His grin grew more sinister, and Tsukishima couldn’t help but notice how white his teeth were, like they were photo shopped, too perfect for one person to have teeth like that.

“Just because someone hasn’t said no, doesn’t mean yes.” Tsukishima had no choice but to retort with something like that.

Kuroo shrugged, like he knew he was right, but that still didn’t stop him, not that Tsukishima wanted him to stop. He couldn’t help but imagine what other things Kuroo could do with his hands.

“But, I think this down here…” Kuroo trailed his fingers down to Tsukishima’s lower stomach, his index finger continuing to trace light circles right above his belt loop, causing Tsukishima’s back to arch in a sensation that made his body feel numb all over again. “…seems to be enjoying the attention-“

Tsukishima knew he had to stop it there, he knew that if he let Kuroo keep going, things would get out of hand. Kuroo was too good for his own damn good, too perfect, too good at provoking people. He was trouble, Tsukishima thought it from the moment he stepped inside the waffle house, he was the worst kind of person, the worst kind of customer, but Tsukishima knew just how to deal with people like him. With a swift motion he planted his lips on Kuroo’s, he made the first move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...And I think we all know what part is coming next ;)


	4. An Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You like it?” Kuroo cooed, lightly grabbing Tsukishima’s hands and placing them on his shoulders, you could tell from the look in his eyes that he was missing not touching Tsukishima’s skin, so that’s exactly what he continued doing. Kissing, touching, doing any type of contact that made the two of them feel like they were on fire.
> 
> “You’re bigger than I thought you’d be.” Tsukishima didn’t even think over his words, he just said what was in his mind, as he dug his nails into Kuroo as he continued to kiss marks up and down his stomach.
> 
> “Is that a comment of my muscles, or something else?” Kuroo brought his head up again, his hair still tickling Tsukishima every time he moved his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, didn't expect to be updating again so soon, but I got really motivated today and here we are. Disclaimer: this chapter is pretty much 50% porn.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo’s voice managed to break through at the two men pulled their lips apart from each other.

They felt just as Tsukishima had imagined they would feel, soft, the perfect outline of Kuroo’s lips fitting perfectly against his own. But that wasn’t all, there was a small moment when Tsukishima could feel the fierceness on Kuroo’s lips. Tsukishima was the one who initiated the kiss, but it felt like Kuroo was the one who was really in control of it. Their lips pressing together felt hard, it almost felt like their teeth clashed as Tsukishima struggled to keep his lips sealed tight. And was that a hint of cherry flavor? Was Kuroo wearing cherry flavored chap-stick? 

This was a bad idea; he could already feel the wave of heat wash over him as he became more and more taken away by this man. His knees feeling weak as he felt like he could collapse into his arms right then and there, and if he wasn’t still mostly sober, maybe he would have.

Why had he done this again? To shut him up? To prove a point? To make the first move? It didn’t really matter to begin with, so there was no real point pondering over it now. What’s done is done, and if anything, Tsukishima found himself wanting to kiss those lips again.

Tsukishima had always considered himself to be a calm and collected person, always thinking about his actions before he did them, constantly observing people, the only impulsive bone he had in his body was when he was drunk, not that he really considered it to be that impulsive. Drunk him was still pretty lax as far as he was concerned. But this, this was different. He was well aware of his actions, well aware of when he placed his hands on the shoulders of Kuroo’s jacket, pulling his head as close to his as humanely possible, well aware of that subtle look of shock on Kuroo’s face (which was a good look for him, if he may add), and most of all, he was well aware of this new lustful desire in him that wanted more.

Lowering his hands off of Kuroo’s jacket, Tsukishima let his arms fall limp at his side, making eye contact with the short man and eagerly await his (hopefully flustered) reaction.

“Tsukki…” Kuroo repeated again, drawing very little attention to himself with his low, almost raspy voice. “So you do like me.” That wasn’t quite the reaction Tsukishima was hoping for, he was thinking something more along the lines of that Cheshire grin smirk appearing on his face, some form of a perverted, flirty retort, and then they would continuing doing whatever it was that they started here.

“I never said I liked you, I just kissed you.” It almost disappointed Tsukishima to the point where he had to seem cold and emotionless to hide his disappointment, though he knew damn well that Kuroo could see right through that.

“No, I don’t think so.” There was that smirk, returning, like Tsukishima figured it would. “No one kisses someone like that if they don’t at least like them.”

“I don’t even know you, how would you even expect me to develop feelings for you like that?”

Amidst his many attempts to try to understand love and romance, Tsukishima couldn’t wrap his head around the whole ‘love at first sight’ thing. Seriously, this wasn’t like the manga. Was he supposed to just fall in love while staring at Kuroo from afar that first night at the waffle house? Was Tsukishima suddenly some half-dense anime protagonist and Kuroo was the ‘prince charming’ who was here to sweep him off of his feet? No, no. 

Tsukishima shook his head, forcing himself to throw that thought from his mind. He had a mild interest in Kuroo as a person, and he kissed him, it was nothing more than that, at least not yet.

“You did just ask me some questions.” Kuroo’s smirk never ceased to disappear from his face. Wouldn’t your facial muscles get tired from having the same expression all the time?  
“The only thing I learned from those ‘questions’ was that Bokuto’s family has money, and that he gives very generous gifts.” (And that Kuroo’s father has pretty expensive fashion tastes.) 

Even though it was nice to learn about Bokuto, he was still at square one when it came to learning about Kuroo. The man was a mystery, but by the looks of it, everyone was in the same boat. He said him and Bokuto were childhood friends, but how much information did he offer up to Bokuto? He was starting to get the feeling that Bokuto even didn’t know much about his friend.

That time, Tsukishima wasn’t trying to be rude, he was just making a comment that was the truth. If anything, he was more surprised by the sudden annoyance in his own voice. 

Maybe this was his way of trying to provoke Kuroo, Kuroo had spent so much time trying to provoke him, that now it was his turn. He didn’t want to piss him off, but he was generally curious about the bed headed man, and now that he had kissed him, he couldn’t suppress his feelings for him anytime soon.

“Come with me.” Like a fierce cat getting ready to pounce on his pray, Kuroo lowered his arms from around Tsukishima’s back, and moved to his wrist, tugging him in the direction opposite of the loud music and the mess of dancing bodies.

Flustered, Tsukishima tried to muster words, mostly ‘what’ or ‘where are we going’, not that he didn’t already have some sort of an idea. All he could do was manage to turn his head back to his shorter, freckled-faced friend, who looked more than comfortable now sitting in the lap of some taller boy with dark bangs. Yamaguchi was careful, he would be okay, or at least, that’s what Tsukishima told himself.

It’s not like Tsukishima knew where he was going, he eyed over the condo when him and Yamaguchi first arrived, but anything other than the kitchen and the room where people were dancing (and other things), were all he recognized.

Kuroo tugged him into a room not too far away from the kitchen, down a long, just as plainly decorated hallway that seemed almost scarce, except for a single painting. Tsukishima looked at it as he passed it, but every major detail seemed to blur before him his eyes. It took him a minute to realize that ‘blur’ was just a rather large, and annoying smudge on his glasses.

At the end of the hallway stood a plain white door, the same color as the walls, based on Kuroo’s demeanor, not looking back at Tsukishima, he could only assume it was Kuroo’s room. And once Kuroo opened the door, he knew he was right.

It was bigger than he expected it to be, several steps up from the small dorm room him and Yamaguchi shared, then again, if this place was built by Bokuto’s parents, it made sense that they would spare no expense when it came to making the rooms more extravagant than everything else.

The room had two fully decorated king-sized beds, complete with white and blue sheets and blankets, it almost gave it a five-star hotel vibe. The beds were separated by a night stand, Tsukishima guessed it was made out of some form of oak wood, probably hand-crafted and imported, it seemed to glow under the tall lights of the ceiling. 

On the left side of the room, various posters of western rock bands hung on the wall, with a volleyball on the edge of the bed. The bright colors of them almost clashed with the pure white walls and carpet. You could see a uniform jersey laying in the middle of the bed, with a ‘1’ on it, complete with the schools colors, there was no doubt in his mind that it was Kuroo’s. Strange though, you would have thought a guy like Kuroo would have a messier room, something that rivaled his and Yamaguchi’s with books and papers everything. Tsukishima almost felt embarrassed looking at it.

The other side of the room was almost identical, a flat screen TV hung on the wall, and though the other bed was empty, it had a certain air to it that made it seem messy. The bed was made just as perfectly as Kuroo’s, but it almost had a different vibe, one of laziness, then again maybe it was just the slight wrinkles in the sheets. 

Along with the TV, a gaming console sat on a metal shelf installed into the wall, with several games surrounding it. Kuroo did mention that he did have a roommate who played video games, if anything, this proved it.

“That’s Kenma’s, he’s out for the night, so it’ll just be us. I hope you didn’t plan on wanting to play games, Tsukki.” Kuroo caught Tsukishima eyeing over almost every detail in the room, from the wrinkles in the sheets, to Kuroo’s lack of any school supplies, to the video games. That was what this room was missing, it didn’t even look like a dorm room, the only actual ‘school thing’ Tsukishima recognized was the volleyball and uniform. 

“Does your roommate always leave when you bring someone here to sleep with?” Tsukishima ignored Kuroo’s comment and brought his attention back over to him, he assumed his roommates names was ‘Kenma’, based on his previous statement. 

“Not really, usually if I bring someone home I go to one of the guest rooms downstairs, Bo and Akaashi are usually pretty cool about it, and all Kenma does is play games. I can barely get him to leave the room. I think he’d probably lock me out if I brought someone here while he was inside.” It almost sounded like Kuroo tried to make a joke, as he cleared the ball and the jersey off of his bed.

Tsukishima gave a slight smirk, he almost sympathized with the guy. Would this be the part where they sit on the bed lovingly and joke about school and their roommates? Or would Kuroo instantly push Tsukishima down onto the bed, Tsukishima still had a hard time reading him.

“So, top or bottom?” Kuroo smirked again, tossing his jacket on the floor and kicking off his shoes, he held his arms at his hips, grinning that provoking smile, his eyes squinting, like they were trying to read over Tsukishima, trying to guess what his answer was going to be.

At first, Tsukishima didn’t expect it to go this far, he just kissed Kuroo only a few minutes ago, he wasn’t drunk, but with Kuroo’s amount of teasing, he might as well have been. He knew deep down there was some weird desire in him that wanted to kiss Kuroo again, wanted to touch him again and be touched by him. The first night they met, Kuroo said he wanted to ‘have him for dessert’, and in this moment, Tsukishima thought maybe he should let him.

“You’re asking me that now? Weren’t you the one who said you wanted to ‘have me for dessert’ a few minutes after we met?” It didn’t sound any better when he repeated that line out loud, from the look in his eyes he knew it sounded more like an invitation to Kuroo, not that he was declining or anything.

“So a bottom then?” Kuroo’s face lit up with a smile, different from the provoking grin he had on before. “Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle.” He softly ran a finger over Tsukishima’s messy blonde hair, it was surprisingly soft for a boys’. 

“Sorry to disappoint you, but it’s not my first time.”

“Ha.” Kuroo laughed, lowering his eyes briefly. “I didn’t think my sweet Tsukki was an untouched flower.”

“Please don’t’ call me that.” Out of all the names Kuroo had called him, he got used to ‘Tsukki’, so used to it that hearing that from any other persons’ lips didn’t feel right anymore. He knew from the look in his eyes that Kuroo was well aware of that too.

“So then, tell me…” Kuroo seemed to ignore every insult Tsukishima threw his way, for better or worse. It was like he was fully aware that Tsukishima’s insults were just a part of his personality, that if a day were to come when Tsukishima stopped making snarky comments to him, that was the day he would have to worry. “Who was your first time then?”  
Kuroo shifted his weight, turning on the balls of his feet and grabbing Tsukishima by the waist, spinning him around, and laying him down on the bed, being mindful of his body as he towered over him. Kuroo put his hands on either side of Tsukishima’s face, getting that hunter look in his eyes as he licked his lips, waiting to devour his prey.

Tsukishima decided to tempt him, taking his index finger and thumb and running it up the center of his shirt. He knew that Kuroo worked out, that was pretty much a given for anyone that was in sports, but he could feel the outline of abs forming on his chest, toned muscles causing him to deeply exhale as Kuroo bit his lip. He knew he wouldn’t last long like this, maybe one or two minutes more as he continued to draw circles over the middle of his stomach, he could feel the muscles moving as Kuroo breathed. But Kuroo just stayed there, letting Tsukishima tease him as he kept his eyes on the boy, shifting his weight again so now his knee was in-between Tsukishima’s thighs, much like the position they were in the other night in the gym, except instead of feeling the volleyball net in-between his fingers, he felt soft satin sheets.

“Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima breathed out, getting a slight confused reaction from the short man, Tsukishima thought about how his bedhead looked ten times more attractive as it hung down over his face, casting a shadow. “You asked me who my first time was with, it was with Yamaguchi.” He was half expecting a laugh from Kuroo, so he averted eye contact with him, looking at the wall to his side.

“You mean freckles-chan?” 

“We were both in high school at the time. You know how your first time is, awkward, you both kind of just want to get it over with, and doing it with a friend didn’t seem as awkward to the two of us back then.” Once again, he didn’t know why he was offering up new information to Kuroo, they were barely acquaintances, if anything, the two didn’t even know anything about each other.

“I learn something new about you every day, Tsukki.” Tsukishima forced himself to look back at Kuroo, eyes still with that lustful look in them.

“Oh, really? And what did you learn today?”

“That I don’t get to take away anything special from you, well, I guess that’ not true. I think tonight will be special either way. I want to learn more about you.” How could the words coming out of his mouth sound so perverse, but yet be so gentle? It almost made Tsukishima’s head spin, until looking back into his dark eyes brought him back down to earth.

“I’d like to learn more about you too.” Tsukishima almost felt embarrassed saying something mushy. Yamaguchi always said that he thought he secretly had a soft side, a side that he would only show with certain people. Tsukishima never really believed him, but why was he now getting all smitten around Kuroo?

“Okay then, let’s start with this.” It wasn’t a full invitation, but Tsukishima might have well just said ‘take me’, because he returned Kuroo with that same lustful look in his eyes.  
It would be wrong to say Tsukishima pegged Kuroo for the slow, romantic type, he was, but he was also the kind of guy that could devour you in less than a minute if he wanted to. But for Tsukishima, it was the former that he decided to do tonight.

Tsukishima lifted his glasses off of his face, reaching over and setting them on the nightstand in-between the two beds. His vision was slightly blurrier now, but he could still make out every detail on Kuroo’s face, his defined jawline, his messy hair that seemed to have no pattern of logic to it, and those gorgeous soft lips. Kuroo returned him with a slight gasp and smile, placing both his hands on the sides of Tsukishima’s face. He didn’t have to say what he was thinking for Tsukishima to know, he could already tell that he was happy to see Tsukishima’s eyes for the first time, not blocked by the glare of his glasses.

The perfect softness that is so perfect it should be illegal met Tsukishima’s skin once again, starting with his cheeks and making their way down to his exposed neck, kissing them softly, but then quickly moving to suck on them, which was sure to leave to a noticeable mark or two in the morning. Tsukishima reached up, tangling his fingers in Kuroo’s soft hair, the dark hair tickling against his fingertips, he used his other hand to pressed Kuroo’s back down on top of his, bringing their bodies closer together as he grew small circles on his back.

“Tsukki…” Kuroo mumbled out in that familiar tone once again, tugging at the hem of Tsukishima’s shirt as soft fingers slipped their way past the thin material.  
With his other hand, Kuroo removed it from Tsukishima’s face and started undoing the buttons on his dress shirt, exposing more skin that he would certainly waste no time in marking with kisses and bruises all of his own.

“You’re more muscular than I thought you’d be.” Kuroo smiled, taking his head away from Tsukishima’s neck for a moment.

“Is that a compliment?” Tsukishima teased, he knew very well just how to push Kuroo’s buttons.

“Yes, very much.” Kuroo sat on his feet as he let his hands roam all over the newly exposed skin, taking in the subtle muscles and abs Tsukishima had from working out back in high school. It wasn’t anything compared to Kuroo’s, but it was enough where Kuroo could feel the defined muscles all over Tsukishima’s body.

Kuroo dipped his head down again, this time kissing and sucking a trail from Tsukishima’s collar bone all the way down to his stomach, to where his skin met with the fabric of his pants. Kuroo spread the fabric of Tsukishima’s shirt open, to now where it was only clinging to his body on his arms, causing Tsukishima to arch his back at the very sensation of Kuroo’s warm hands continuing to roam over his body, like it was all unexplored territory for the bedhead, in a way, it sort of was.

“Kuroo-“ Tsukishima groaned out when Kuroo’s fingers made their way up to one of his nipples, circling around them. The sensitive area around the skin made Tsukishima feel like he was putty in Kuroo’s hands, his body seeming to bend at his will, and Kuroo’s name rolling off of his tongue almost like it was second nature.

Kuroo smirked in pleasure as he continued to run his lips up and down Tsukishima’s body, kissing and sucking at just about every exposed area he could find, producing more and more moans from the taller man. Tsukishima couldn’t help but think of that this must be what it feels like to be predator and prey. Kuroo’s lips made Tsukishima feel like he could live to be three-hundred years old every time they touched him.

Wrapping an arm around Kuroo’s back, Tsukishima began to pull up at the hem of Kuroo’s shirt, tugging it upward and exposing part of the mans back. It got Kuroo’s attention, that was for sure.

“It’s not fair that I’m the only one that gets to be shirtless.” Tsukishima smirked, returning that same level of over-confidence back to Kuroo.

Almost like it was an order, Kuroo lifted his shirt over his head, throwing it onto the floor with his jacket and shoes, letting Tsukishima’s eyes wander over the skin. It was just as Tsukishima imagined they would be, the term ‘buff’ came to mind, as Tsukishima admired them for a moment, his defined muscles on his chest and stomach almost seemed to flex every time he breathed, going in and out with perfect rhythm each time.

As Tsukishima touched his skin, he noticed each and every detail of muscles, even his fingertips running over a scar here or there, from what he assumed was an injury from practice or something. His skin was just as smooth as his hands were whenever he touched them, sending a continuous chill up Tsukishima’s spine, needless to say, it felt great.

“You like it?” Kuroo cooed, lightly grabbing Tsukishima’s hands and placing them on his shoulders, you could tell from the look in his eyes that he was missing not touching Tsukishima’s skin, so that’s exactly what he continued doing. Kissing, touching, doing any type of contact that made the two of them feel like they were on fire.

“You’re bigger than I thought you’d be.” Tsukishima didn’t even think over his words, he just said what was in his mind, as he dug his nails into Kuroo as he continued to kiss marks up and down his stomach.

“Is that a comment of my muscles, or something else?” Kuroo brought his head up again, his hair still tickling Tsukishima every time he moved his head.

Realizing his terrible choice in wording, Tsukishima began to blush, he might have been so distracted by Kuroo that his mind just stopped working. Yeah, that seemed logical.

Kuroo snickered. “I’m ready if you are, would you like me to check for you?” He moved one of his hands down Tsukishima’s stomach, getting another whimper and moan from the taller man as he undid the top button on his pants.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” Tsukishima was completely self aware of how turned on he was getting right now, if the tight bulge in his pants were any indication.

“Okay.” He couldn’t tell if Kuroo was pleased with that response or not, he was still a hard guy to read.

Tsukishima’s eyes stayed locked on the man as he got up off the bed, walking over and opening a drawer in the nightstand, and pulling out a small bottle of lube from one of the drawers. He shook it around in-between his index finger and thumb, almost like he was waiting for Tsukishima’s nod of approval.

Kuroo fiddled with the buckle on his pants, letting them fall to the floor, adding to the pile of clothes that was now starting to grow by the minute. Tsukishima decided to take this opportunity to finally rid his shirt, which was now starting to leave lines on the sides of his arms from running into his skin so much.

“Do you want to take your pants, or shall I?” Kuroo teased, walking over and standing at the foot of the bed.

“That won’t be-“

“Necessary.” Kuroo interrupted him, a sly smirk on his face as he stood there in just his boxers. 

Tsukishima tried to avert his eyes from Kuroo’s lower half, there was something so awkward about doing sort of thing sober. Then again, it was probably just the fact that this time he was getting turned on without the alcohol, it was all Kuroo, all him.

Tsukishima slid his pants down to his ankles, letting Kuroo take the pleasure in pulling them off completely. You didn’t even have to be looking at his face to see the pleasure in his eyes, he was eager, that wanton lustful look almost looked contagious. 

“Say Tsukki, how long has it been?”

Tsukishima paused, he was only good at these not-so-subtle lines when he was drunk. “Long enough.”

“Would you like some help then?”

“I think I have it under control.” Tsukishima smirked, trying to give Kuroo the same look he was used to seeing on his face.

“You sure?”

“Yes, now will you come over here already!” Tsukishima was growing impatient, and Kuroo was such a tease

“Someone’s bossy.” Kuroo teased, slipping his boxers off to fall to the floor.

Tsukishima bit his lip, that bulge in his boxers tightening as he watched Kuroo unscrew the cap of the bottle, he could almost feel his body quiver with anticipation as he eyed over the shorter man’s chest one more time.

“Hands and knees.” Kuroo cooed from the edge of the bed, and Tsukishima was a little too eager to obey the mans every command, right now he could probably tell Tsukishima to rob a bank and he almost do it.

He tried not watch as he did it, watching something like that would just make this hot situation more awkward. He knew Kuroo put on a condom as he lathered the contents of the bottle onto himself.

“And you say I’m bossy?” Tsukishima had no choice but to tease him, it should be illegal to do what Kuroo’s doing, he was too gorgeous for his own damn good, everything from his grin, to the way he slid his fingers over Tsukishima’s body, even to the way his bangs swayed when he walked side to side. Too perfect.

Tsukishima briefly admired the satin sheets underneath him, acting as a good distraction as he curled his fingers against them, feeling Kuroo loom over him from behind. He tilted his head back to look at him, that sly grin still plastered on his face.

“Tsukki…” He cooed away in his ear, sending that same chill down his spine. “You feel so good.” 

“Can you please not say cringe worthy things like that?” It was all he could do to retort against Kuroo’s soft words. He arched his back, leaning into Kuroo’s chest, feeling his strong muscles against his own body. 

“I can’t help it, Tsukki, you’re so cute.” Kuroo teased him, Tsukishima knew he was doing it on purpose, wanting to get a reaction, but also wanting to feel the satisfaction of getting nothing but a moan out of the taller man. 

“Uh…” Tsukishima moaned out, biting his lip. “When we’re done here I’m going to smack you.” He was joking, he knew Kuroo knew he was joking, but in that moment he wished that he could stay like this forever with Kuroo.

 

Oh God, Tsukishima needed Jesus, or God, or anything really. Kuroo felt amazing, a God in his own right, as sweat seemed to drip off of the two of their bodies in perfect unison.  
“Kuroo… I’m..” Tsukishima’s breath felt heavy as his face pressed down against the satin sheets. Kuroo’s hands gripped his hips, holding him as close to his body as humanly possible. Is it possible to feel like you are truly connected with another person, that you are one with them? That’s what Tsukishima felt like right now, that him and Kuroo were one, connected, they didn’t know a lot about each other, but sometimes you don’t need to know every detail about a person in order to understand them. 

“Say my name, Tsukki.” Kuroo almost pried, his words feeling like they were resonating deep within Tsukishima’s mind.

“Your name?” He almost questioned it. Whenever they spoke, the always called Kuroo ‘Kuroo’, almost forgetting that was just his last name. “Tetsurou.”

“Again.” Kuroo breathed out, his words having a certain moan to them that made them seem hotter than normal.

“Tetsurou. Tetsurou. Tetsurou.” Tsukishima repeated it over and over again, he never noticed it until now, but his name had a nice ring to it, the way he seemed to roll off of his tongue so nicely, it sounded the same way as whenever Kuroo said ‘Tsukki’, he thought that maybe he could get used to this.

“Tetsurou… I’m-“ Tsukishima attempted to groan out, feeling his own member hard against his own chest, not that Kuroo didn’t already have an idea what he was trying to say, he seemed to be the one in control of this whole situation as it was. 

“Tsukki, come for me.” Kuroo egged him on, knowing exactly just what kind of reaction he would get out of the man. Even in a situation like this, Tsukishima still felt like he was an ass, an ass that knew he would get his way.

“Kuroo. Tetsurou.” Tsukishima moaned, feeling the own hotness of his breath in-between himself and the sheets. Fuck, he felt great, Kuroo was great, everything was great. Too great.

Tsukishima finished and he could feel Kuroo bite down on the back of his neck, causing him to jump in surprise as he bucked his each with each one of Kuroo’s new thrusts into him.  
“Tsukki, where have you been all my life?” He breathed out, his breath no more than a whisper.

“I could ask you the same question.”

“Fair enough.”

It sounded like Kuroo got the half-satisfying answer that he wanted, releasing and them pulling himself out of Tsukishima, letting the two of them collapse on the now completely messy bed. Their breathing slowing to a steady pace of up and down as Tsukishima reached for his glasses.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo spoke softly, looking at him through half-lidded eyes.

“What?”

“That was the best I’ve ever had.”

“You probably say that to everyone you sleep with.” Regardless if Tsukishima felt the same way, he wasn’t going to give Kuroo the satisfaction of knowing that. It was like admitting you were wrong to someone you spent so much time arguing with, you didn’t want them to know that they were right after all this time.

“Was it not good for you?” Kuroo placed one of his hands on Tsukishima’s lower back, drawing light circles there, feeling the softness of his skin.

“That’s not what I said.” Tsukishima sighed, feeling the super sarcastic and snarky part of him take over again. “Can I use your bathroom?”

“Yeah, it’s the room right over there.” Kuroo pointed to a door that Tsukishima had over looked before, the only other door in the room (besides the one leading to the hallway). It was an on suite, figures every bedroom in this place would have a bathroom built into it. Tsukishima got off the bed, fiddling with his glasses as he made his way to that room, cleaning himself up. Tsukishima was extra careful to not look at himself in mirror, he already knew he looked like a mess, he didn’t need to see it.

“Just so you know.” Tsukishima rose his voice, making sure Kuroo could hear him from the other room. “I’m not interested in a friends with benefits relationship.”

“Neither am I, Tsukki.” From the sounds of it, Kuroo was walking around, probably digging through the pile of clothes on the floor, trying to separate his things from Tsukishima’s.

“Oh.” That answer almost surprised him, guessing that Kuroo was surprisingly the one and done kind of guy after all. “I’m glad we’re on the same page then.”

“Tsukki, I want you to stay the night.” And just like that, Tsukishima was proven wrong. 

Kuroo appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, wearing only his boxers as his stretched his forearms out, blocking Tsukishima’s path. He had a persistent look in his eyes, telling Tsukishima he wouldn’t take no for an answer. We’ll just see about that.

“What? No….” Tsukishima seemed frazzled, like that was something he didn’t expect.

“You should, it’s late, most of the people have probably already gone home, plus my bed is bound to be more comfortable than those dingy bunk beds the school has you sleep on. Plus.” He smirked. “I would feel so, so bad if something were to happen to you if you walk home this late.”

“Is that your attempt to try to provoke me?” 

“If it gets you to stay, then yes.”

“You sure you’re not just using that as an excuse so we can go for round two in the morning?” It was already clear what was on Kuroo’s mind, it wasn’t the first time a guy he slept with asked him to stay the night, most of them were just more blunt about it than Kuroo was.

“Oh, so do you want to go for round two?” Kuroo smirked again.

“Quit assuming things, we still don’t know each other very well.” Tsukishima pushed Kuroo’s hand out of the way, walking over to the pile of clothes and picking up his boxers.

“Then let’s get to know each other. Ask me anything you want tonight.”

Placing his hands on his hips, Tsukishima felt annoyed, but still mildly intrigued, Kuroo was interesting, he would give him that, and it’s not like he didn’t have a point, or several. He said and thought it before, but he was interested in Kuroo, so who would pass up an opportunity like this?

“Okay fine, since tomorrow is Saturday and all, and I only have to work in the evening shift. But don’t think this means I like you.” Tsukishima was blunt, like always, but he still needed to sort out his feelings for Kuroo. He was cute, a great kisser, and Tsukishima’s heart seemed to race whenever they touched, but you can’t like someone just based on that, right?

“That’s impossible. I think you like me.” He sounded like a grade schooler as Kuroo wrapped his arms around him, pulling the two of them back down onto the bed.

“I do not.”

“I think you do.” He teased, his nose so close that it was almost touching Tsukishima’s. “Oh, which reminds me.” He almost sounded like Bokuto with how he changed the subject. 

“You should come to one of our matches or practice matches this week for volleyball. I’d really like to see you there.”

“Why?” It was a bit of an odd request; Tsukishima wasn’t really much of the kind of person who went to school outings. But Kuroo mentioned it before too, about wanting Tsukishima to come to a match, for some reason he seemed to have the idea that since Tsukishima played volleyball in high school, that he would enjoy it. Honestly, Tsukishima still couldn’t figure him out.

“Because I need my good luck charm.” Kuroo winked.

“Really? In what world am I a good luck charm?”

“Well, I’d say I got pretty lucky tonight.”

“You’re horrible.” Scowling is all Tsukishima could do to not laugh at Kuroo’s terrible remark.

“And you still haven’t given me an answer yet.”

Tsukishima was good at being evasive, but in a time like this he thought ‘why not’? Kuroo was persistent enough, it’s not like he could avoid the mans questions for anything, if anything, he knew that he didn’t want to. Every time Kuroo asked him anything, he was fighting the urge to just blurt out anything that came to mind.

“I’ll think about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be some actual plot next chapter, I swear!


	5. Charms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are you going to tell me what you’re doing here? I have to work, you know?” Tsukishima was unamused, as he continued his way walking down the sidewalk, his eyes closing in on the waffle house just up the street.
> 
> “We came for waffles!” Bokuto yelled, using that tone that made him sound like a kid opening presents on Christmas morning.
> 
> “Bo was hungry.” Kuroo smirked, wrapping his arm around Tsukishima’s shoulder as he was followed by the three boys. “Plus, you left this at my place last night, I needed to give it back to you.” Kuroo pulled a small phone charm out of the pocket of his jeans, dangling in front of Tsukishima’s face, he recognized it instantly as the charm that hung on his only a few days ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a shorter chapter, but there's a lot of dialogue in this one, so I think that kind of makes up for it.

“He pisses me off, you know?” Tsukishima all but clicked his tongue as his stared up at the ceiling from the top of his dorm room, he could hear the sounds of Yamaguchi’s pencil frantically writing on a piece of paper, probably trying to finish the homework he neglected. 

“That’s the third time you’ve said that today, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi didn’t even bother to look up to his friend, because he knew all too well what happened. “If he pisses you off so much, why did you stay the night with him?”

“Because-“ This was the certain kind of conversation that only a best friends could have, the morning after the two of them went to Kuroo and Bokuto’s party.

Tsukishima would like to say the events in his mind are hazy, that he could barely remember Kuroo’s face, but that was the farthest thing from the truth. Every time Tsukishima closed his eyes, all he saw was Kuroo’s face, waking up next to him, the slow pace of his breathing, the way his nose crinkles as he’s lightly snoring. But even more so, the way his dark eyes looked at him when he woke up, Kuroo spent so much time telling Tsukishima that he thought he was cute, but Kuroo must clearly not have understood how gorgeous he was, because when he wasn’t making passes at him, he still couldn’t hide the urge to want to touch him and kiss him. And that feeling is what pissed Tsukishima off the most.

“So are you going?” Without even finishing his sentence, Yamaguchi was already hammering him with another question. That was the thing about having a best friend, much like how Yamaguchi was the one who first dragged Tsukishima into partying, he was also bound to push him towards Kuroo, because he knew Yamaguchi could tell Tsukishima felt something for him. “You know they have a practice match on Monday?”

“Please tell me how it is exactly that you know the schedule of the volleyball team?”

“Well, Bokuto isn’t the only one with impressive eavesdropping skills.” Yamaguchi laughed, causing Tsukishima to peer his head over the top bunk and look at his friend. “But you should go, Kuroo likes you and you like him, I think it would make him really happy if you showed up there, even if it is just a practice match.”

“Are regular people even allowed to show up to practice matches?”

“I think so, I know Oikawa has his club of fangirls that show up to every practice match, with both guys and girls.” The two of them both laughed, if there ever was a resident ‘pretty boy’ on campus, it was Oikawa, everywhere he went he seemed to have followers of some kind. If Kuroo was the kind of being over-confident, then Oikawa was the grand king. “If you don’t go I’ll have to text Kuroo, and I’ll give him the spare key to our apartment.”

“Since when did you have Kuroo’s number?” Tsukishima scowled at the sudden attempt of blackmail from his best friend.

“I have classes with Bokuto, I think he would be more than happy for the friend of a friend.”

Tsukishima shrugged, he wasn’t entirely wrong there, Bokuto would be the kind of guy who would give out his friends’ numbers for something like that. 

“You’re scary, you know that?” Tsukishima barely turned the scowl on his face back into his normal pout, though, he still couldn’t tell if Yamaguchi was completely joking or not.  
“So, you’re going, right?” By now, Yamaguchi was used to Tsukishima’s moods, he was cold, but didn’t say anything he said to be mean or spiteful.

“I don’t know, maybe.” It’s not that Tsukishima didn’t want to go to the practice match, if anything he was curious to see how Kuroo played, but he gave up on volleyball for a reason after high school, it stopped being fun for him. Yamaguchi felt the same way, which is why the two decided to focus just on their studies and not join the team in college, Tsukishima had his biology and Yamaguchi had his humanities. “You know how I still feel about volleyball.” There was that scowl again.

“You wouldn’t be playing though; you would just be cheering on Kuroo from the stands. If anything, he’d probably give you another kiss if he saw you, you’d probably be the only one there who wasn’t a part of the Oikawa fan club.” 

Tsukishima sighed, resting his hands on his forehead as he relaxed his head back on his pillow. Dammit, why did Yamaguchi have to be right? It wasn’t like Tsukishima hated volleyball or anything, he just got bored and tired of it, to where it started to feel like a chore, to where it stopped being fun. It’s not like he could make a professional career out of it anyway, so why bother sticking with it? That’s how he always felt.

“Anyway…” Tsukishima decided it was his turn to change the subject. “How was your night, the one with the dude with the bangs?” Tsukishima remembered the final image in his mind, the final image before Kuroo swept him away into his room. He remembered his best friend look comfortable in the lap of some guy with dark bangs, he had never seen him around before, but that still didn’t mean he wasn’t a student there.

“Same as always, we went back to his place. I’m amazed I still managed to beat you back here this morning.” Yamaguchi laughed, his sweet voice and his somewhat cute face really didn’t fit his personality at all.

“Did you even know his name?”

“I knew enough, it’s not like people really need to know a lot about each other to sleep with them.” Yamaguchi hummed out, like he was laughing.

“You’re horrible, you know that?” Tsukishima teased him. There was a certain level of joking that Tsukishima could only do with Yamaguchi.

“Well, it’s not like one-night-stands are a thing where you’re supposed to know every waking detail about the person you’re sleeping with.” 

“Hmm…” 

Tsukishima groaned slightly as he glanced over at the alarm clock that was sitting comfortably on the desk at the other side of the room. He never normally had any problem sleeping off a hangover, especially when he only had to work the night or evening shift the following night, but for some reason, he couldn’t shake the knot in his stomach that seemed to return, and grow increasingly stronger the closer it got to the start of his shift. 

Tsukishima climbed his way down from the top bunk of the bed, grabbing his apron off of the desk, even after washing it who knows how many times, he could still smell the syrup on it. It was like the smell was implanted into his brain by this point.

“You going to work?” Yamaguchi spoke softly, looking up from the textbook that was in his lap.

“Yeah, might as well get there early, maybe I’ll get off earlier too.” In the back of his mind all Tsukishima could think about was Kuroo, working there never seemed the same since that night Kuroo walked in. if anything, he was just happy he got paid tonight, and really hoped he wasn’t working with anyone he really couldn’t stand. His life had been complicated enough these past few weeks.

“Can you bring me back some food?” Yamaguchi beamed up, closing the book in his lap. Tsukishima hadn’t gotten a good look at his face, but he could see the hangover still in Yamaguchi’s eyes. At least one of them got drunk last night.

“Maybe. It depends who the chef tonight is.”

Yamaguchi nodded as Tsukishima walked out of the door to their dorm room, with his keys and his phone in hand. He briefly flipped through his phone, checking through his email and text messages. First, he had a message from Yamaguchi, telling him he got home safely this morning, then after that, the flood of messages from Kuroo and some Bokuto filled his inbox.

 

Kuroo Tetsurou

“Tsukki… I found a phone charm in my room, is it yours?”  
“I’ll just return it to you at school.”  
“Are you working tonight? Bo has a craving for some waffles.”  
“Also… I miss you! We didn’t get to go for round two this morning.”  
“Don’t forget to come to the practice game on Monday!”

The Owl

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Tsukki! Kuroo says you might come 2 r game on Monday! You better b there!”

 

Fortunately, Bokuto’s messages were short this time, he always had a habit of sending long paragraphs, most of which contained abbreviations that made little to no since to Tsukishima. Tsukishima even took the liberty of changing his name in his contacts to ‘The Owl’, it seemed to fit him more than anything else. 

Kuroo on the other hand was a different story, he was a needy text-er (but at least he didn’t use an absurd amount of abbreviations). He seemed to text sentence after sentence, instead of turning them into paragraphs, more than anything, Tsukishima thought he was just trying to get his attention, get a way for him to respond no matter what. Even his text messages were provoking. 

Wait, phone charm? Bokuto had a craving for waffles? That couldn’t mean. 

Tsukishima felt like a robot as he walked the path from his dorm room apartment to the waffle house, holding his phone up briefly to examine it. And, sure enough, it was missing. It was nothing important, just a charm the captain of his high schools’ volleyball team gave him a few years’ back, at the time the whole team got one, and Tsukishima just never got around to taking it off. It wasn’t that big of a deal. If anything, it gave him an excuse to see Kuroo again. He pissed him off, but in the best way possible. He still couldn’t get him off his mind. Did he like him? Maybe.

“I swear if they-“ Tsukishima began to mumble to himself, knowing damn well that both Kuroo and Bokuto wouldn’t be above showing up at his work place. If anything, he thought about how if they stepped foot inside of the waffle house while he was working that he was going to smack them. The first time was just a coincidence, but Kuroo was cunning and provoking, and he surely wouldn’t be above something like this. Tsukishima could almost see the smug look on his face now.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Tsukishima placed his hand on the temple of his head, lowering his eyes to the ground as he met with the eyes of Bokuto, Kuroo, and Akaashi.

“Tsukki!” Bokuto yelled, his arms held wide open as if he was getting ready to run towards Tsukishima to give him a hug, but then decided not to when he was met with Tsukishima’s scowl.

“What are you three doing here?” Tsukishima couldn’t even hide the displeasure in his voice this time.

“Tsukki, is that anyway to greet your three best friends.” Kuroo smirked, taking a few steps forward and bringing himself eye level with Tsukishima.

“We’re not friends.”

Bokuto gasped in shock, as Akaashi just stood there, eyeing over the two simpletons who pulled that ‘fake wounded’ act again. You had to applaud the guy for putting up with their   
shenanigans so much.

“Tsukki, how could you even say that?” Bokuto yelled out, his voice seeming to be higher than normal.

“Are you going to tell me what you’re doing here? I have to work, you know?” Tsukishima was unamused, as he continued his way walking down the sidewalk, his eyes closing in on the waffle house just up the street.

“We came for waffles!” Bokuto yelled, using that tone that made him sound like a kid opening presents on Christmas morning.

“Bo was hungry.” Kuroo smirked, wrapping his arm around Tsukishima’s shoulder as he was followed by the three boys. “Plus, you left this at my place last night, I needed to give it back to you.” Kuroo pulled a small phone charm out of the pocket of his jeans, dangling in front of Tsukishima’s face, he recognized it instantly as the charm that hung on his only a few days ago.

“You could have just given that to me in class.” Tsukishima kept his eyes glued to the ground, feeling Kuroo’s warm breath on his neck as the two seemed to walk perfectly in synch with each other. 

Tsukishima didn’t want to look him in the eyes, the events of the previous night still ran through his head, and he could still feel his heartbeat quicken every time Kuroo was near him. Right now, all he was doing was fighting the urge to kiss him as he snatched the charm from Kuroo’s hands and fiddled with his phone to put it back on.

“I could have, but what fun would that be?” He wasn’t looking at him, but he could still tell the provoking tone in his voice. “We never did actually get to eat here when we saw you the first time.”

“That’s right!” You could hear Bokuto’s voice yelling from a few feet behind him.

“You know we still don’t serve dessert, right?” Tsukishima shoved his phone back in his pocket, opening up the door to restaurant, his shifted the weight of his shoulders, throwing Kuroo’s hand off of him. If they were alone, or back at Kuroo and Bokuto’s place, he might have actually let him keep it on there longer.

“I know that, but I’m pretty happy with the ‘dessert’ I got last night.” Kuroo winked, smirking as Tsukishima brought his face up to look at him for the first time during this conversation. His eyes still had that same look in them, that glint that made it seem like he was getting his way. Tsukishima felt that knot in his stomach tighten, as he knew in the back of his mind that he wouldn’t mind looking at those eyes all day. Maybe Yamaguchi was right, maybe he did like Kuroo. 

Wait, like Kuroo? No, that can’t be right, you can’t like someone you just met, Tsukishima didn’t even know a thing about this man, well, not like that hadn’t stopped them before, but still. He was just mildly attracted to the man, and was curious about him, that was it. Or at least, that’s what Tsukishima was going to keep telling himself.

“Please go take a seat and I’ll take your orders soon.” Tsukishima was forced to lower his eyes again, knowing that if he kept looking at Kuroo only the inevitable would happen. And he couldn’t have that while he was working. Hell, it felt like Kuroo was quietly seducing him as he took a seat over in that same corner table they sat in the first time they were here. Tsukishima knew Kuroo was staring at him, even when he was out of view he knew he was looking in his general direct, waiting for him to appear so that smirk could spread on his once again. What was with this guy?

“Tsukishima!” A sadly familiar voice yelled from standing next to him. Of course, he had to have a shift with one of his more annoying co-workers.

“What is it, Hinata? I just got here, please don’t start yelling this soon.” 

Hinata being Hinata Shouyo, his undeniably short, yet somehow twice as annoying co-worker, they had been working together since Tsukishima started working here two years ago. He knew next to nothing about the guy, other than he was the one who trained Tsukishima, but ever since he met him, he dreaded working with him, their personalities just didn’t mix well. And most of all, when him and one of the cooks, Kageyama worked together, the two would never shut up. They were apparently old friends from high school who got reunited at this job, but their loud and simple-minded personalities pissed Tsukishima off.

Tsukishima briefly looked around the room, looking to see who else was working with him today as he started to pull his notebook out of the pocket of his apron. Looks like Tanaka wasn’t here, what a shame, Tsukishima could actually tolerate him on most days. He peered his eyes behind the cooking counter, to see none other than, you guessed it, Kageyama. This was going to be a long shift. 

“Do you know those people that just walked in? I saw you talking to them.” Hinata pried as he clenched his fists in excitement, his personality was a lot like Bokuto’s, only ten times worse. His bright orange-like hair seemed to stick out in all directions (not nearly as messy as Kuroo’s though), and he always liked to jump around a lot.  
Kageyama on the other hand, was a guy with a temper problem. Tsukishima also met him when he first started working here, he was always cursing or complaining if the food wasn’t perfect, he wasn’t even that good of a cook either. At least Tanaka can make pretty decent hash browns. The only thing decent that Tsukishima tasted that Kageyama ever made was toast. Let’s hope that Bokuto, Akaashi, and Kuroo don’t have weak stomachs.

“We go to the same school, but it’s not like we know each other really well.” Tsukishima knew that was a lie, well, a half lie. He knew that Bokuto considered him a friend, and Kuroo, well he was still up for debate. But do you really go to the lengths to give someone back a silly little phone charm at their workplace, if you don’t at least like them a little bit?  
Tsukishima didn’t even bother to wait for Hinata’s answer or retort as he made his way to the table in the back, with his pen notebook in hand. Kuroo almost seemed too happy as he watched Tsukishima walk over to the table, both Bokuto and Akaashi had their backs to him, but Kuroo made sure Tsukishima noticed his presence. 

“Okay, what do you guys want?” Tsukishima’s voice sounded much less than enthusiastic, no sarcasm, and no snarky tone, just bland and emotionless.

“Is that how you take someone’s order? I would think you would at least put on a fake smile or something.” Kuroo teased, Tsukishima knew he was doing it on purpose. 

For a moment, Tsukishima thought about retorting, saying some snarky remark like ‘I can’t exactly be pleasant when I know why you’re here’. Seriously, out of all the places to eat at in this place they just had to choose the restaurant he worked out, maybe it was his fault for letting it slip that he was working tonight, but this isn’t the only waffle house in town, if Bokuto wanted them so badly they could have gone somewhere else. (Especially tonight considering Kageyama was cooking.)

Seeing the sourness in Tsukishima’s expression, Kuroo brought his eyes down to the menu on the table in front of him, eyeing over the choices for a minute, acting as if he hadn’t decided what he wanted to eat yet. Tsukishima rolled his eyes, those were the worst kind of customers, the indecisive ones. Even people like Bokuto, who always knew what they wanted and shouted it with such enthusiasm were better. But it’s not like he could tell Kuroo to order and stop stalling, he figured he was doing it on purpose as it was, probably as an excuse to annoy Tsukishima some more. he figured he was only a few minutes away from him saying ‘I just wanted to see the grumpy look on your face’.

“Okay.” Kuroo spoke again, sending a relief down Tsukishima’s spine. “I’ll take one of the pancake meals with a side of eggs of hash browns, and some water.”

“Are you sure about that?” Tsukishima didn’t mean to say it, it just slipped out, like a lot of things did around Kuroo. His mind right now was a mess thinking about Kuroo’s gorgeous face and what thing they could order that Kageyama wouldn’t return looking like an over-cooked blob. 

“Well, would you like to recommend something for me then, Tsukki?” Kuroo leaned across the table, grabbing Tsukishima’s hand in his, sending a chill up his spine as he leaned back.

“No, that’s fine.” He sounded flustered and he knew Kuroo picked up on that. Damn this boy and his perfectness. 

Tsukishima forced himself to bring his attention elsewhere, removing his hand from Kuroo’s as he scribbled down his order. There was a gleam coming from Bokuto, one that signified that he was eager and pleased, his eyes looking bright as ever.

“Aww, you guys are so cute.” Bokuto whined, leaning his head on Akaashi’s shoulder. On the surface, Akaashi looked just as cold as Tsukishima, but he wasn’t. Tsukishima had never really interacted with him by himself, but he got the feeling that Akaashi was the type to act all serious in public, but then when he was alone with Bokuto he was a real romantic. You could tell just by the way he slightly tilts his head to make vague eye contact with Bokuto, it’s subtle, but his face lights up with happiness. Even Tsukishima couldn’t help but think it was slightly cute.

“Bokuto, your order.” Akaashi spoke softly, like he was just whispering to Bokuto, whatever he did, it got his attention. 

Bokuto perked up, flipping through the menu until he landed on the ‘specials’ page. “I’ll take the omelet I wanted last time, and whatever the best soda you serve here is.” He smirked, crossing his arms like he was proud of himself. Tsukishima didn’t even bother to warn him, Kageyama was nowhere near the level of Tanaka when it came to cooking, not that Tanaka was that good, he could just make a handful of meals taste decent. 

“I’ll just have some waffles and water.” Akaashi spoke softly and calmly, it was a refreshing taste from Bokuto’s and Kuroo’s over exaggeration. “Bokuto, didn’t you want waffles anyway?”

“I do, but I want to eat your waffles, Akaashi.” Bokuto smirked, leaning his head back on Akaashi’s shoulder. Not that it was really any of his concern, but Tsukishima got the feeling that ‘eating his waffles’ was code for something else. “Oh, by the way.” Bokuto almost jumped up, bringing his attention over Tsukishima as he finished writing down their orders.   
“What?” This time, Tsukishima’s tone didn’t sound unpleasant, maybe he was just curious about what new thing Bokuto had to say. 

“You better be coming to our game on Monday. Don’t think I won’t drag you all the way over there.”

Almost surprised from the sudden outburst from Bokuto, Tsukishima turned his head to the side, already knowing Kuroo was smirking. 

“Of course he’ll be coming, Tsukki is my good luck charm.” Kuroo winked, knowing very well just what kind of reaction he would get from Tsukishima.

Tsukishima sighed. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it.” That was a lie, Mondays were pretty easy going for him, since he had all morning classes, and he rarely worked any evening or night shifts then. If anything, he just didn’t want to be alone with Kuroo until he gets his thoughts together.

“Tsukki!” You could probably hear Bokuto’s loud voice over the entire restaurant, good thing Hinata and Kageyama were just as loud. “You have to come! I’ll drag you from your dorm!”

“You don’t even know where my dorm is?”

“I got it from Yamaguchi.” 

Tsukishima scowled, dammit Yamaguchi. He always did play the part of the wingman pretty well. He did mention before that he could get Bokuto’s number, I guess this is proof that he already did. Was this what it feels like to be backed into a corner? It wasn’t like he was against going or anything, he wanted to see Kuroo play, but going back to volleyball might be a mistake for Tsukishima, he quit it for a reason, and didn’t want to be reminded of it. It’s not like this would be his last chance to see Kuroo or anything, knowing him he would probably be persistent about seeing Tsukishima until the end of time.

“So you’ll be there on Monday, right?” Kuroo egged him now, that provoking smile returning. 

And just like that, Tsukishima felt himself play right into the bedheads hands. Partly because he knew Bokuto looked strong, he already got a taste of just how strong Kuroo was, and if Bokuto was a few steps up from that, he probably could carry Tsukishima over his shoulder all the way to the gym. That would be far worse than going and just finding an excuse to step out, it’s not like he would be noticed anyways over all of Oikawa’s fan club.

“Alright fine, I’ll go. But it’s not because I like you or anything.” Tsukishima scowled again, getting an excited reaction from Kuroo and Bokuto.

“Really?” They both said in perfect harmony. 

“But if you lose-“ Tsukishima began, only to be interrupted by Kuroo getting up from the table and meeting him face to face.

“We won’t lose, because you’ll be there.” Kuroo seemed like the kind of guy that could be impulsive, especially now. He stood on his tip toes slightly, so he could be taller than Tsukishima, as he gently planted a soft kiss on his forehead, making the taller man blush as he pushed him away out of instinct. 

“Please don’t do that here, I work here.” Maybe, just maybe if they were alone, he would have let him kiss him more.

“Okay.” Kuroo’s voice had an apologetic tone, something new for him. “But if we win, you owe me a kiss and a date.”

Tsukishima could feel his blood boil. “And if you lose, you stop coming here and harassing me.” If this was the challenge that Kuroo wanted, then Tsukishima gladly accepted it. 

“Okay, deal.” 

Tsukishima didn’t say anything, turning on his feet, preparing to walk away because they knew he had been standing at their table for far too long, someone would start suspecting something soon. 

“Oh, Tsukki.” Kuroo’s voice cooed as he sat back down at the table.

“Huh?” Tsukishima didn’t even bother turning around the whole way, just turning his head to the side so he could barely see Kuroo from his view.

“You’re cute.” He winked.

Tsukishima didn’t even have time to register that chill that ran down his spine. “Shut up.” 

Once back behind the counter, Tsukishima could still feel Kuroo’s eyes on him, not that it bothered him as he tore the paper out of his notebook and slid it across the counter to Kageyama. 

“Eh? Can Kageyama really cook all this?” Hinata spoke loudly with disbelief. 

“Of course I can, you dumbass.” And there was the yelling, Kageyama had such a way with words as he reached over the counter and bumped Hinata on the head. 

From the background, Tsukishima could hear the noises of Hinata and Kageyama arguing with each other as Kageyama began to work on the new order. Tsukishima tuned them out as he silently thought about Kuroo, about last night, about the way that they kissed and touched each other. What he would give right now to replay that. He still knew nothing about him, but that didn’t matter. They say that the person who falls first is the one that loses, but don’t you have to know enough about someone first before you fall for them?

Wait, fall for them?

Tsukishima caught himself off guard with those words. He was on his mind all the time now, to the point where he didn’t want to be alone with the man after sleeping with him. Was he falling for Kuroo? Did he like the attention Kuroo gave him, the way that he kissed him, and the way that he provoked him? And more importantly, did he actually like Kuroo? It wasn’t impossible considering how much he got under his skin, but was that the reason he got a knot in his stomach whenever Kuroo was around, was that the reason he felt so strange and his heartbeat started to quicken every time he saw him? Did he like him?

Impossible, well, he wanted it to be impossible, or more so, in the back of his mind he wished it was impossible.

Tsukishima gulped as he took a quick peek around the corner of the waffle house, and sure enough, Kuroo’s eyes were still dead locked onto Tsukishima’s direction, getting a slight pleased reaction when he saw the blonde stick his head out there. There was no denying that even that made Tsukishima’s heart jump, maybe Yamaguchi was right and he did like him a little bit, maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tsukishima's still question his feelings, Kuroo is still gorgeous, and Kageyama can't cook to save his life. This chapter was really fun to write.


	6. Volleyball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well, Tsukki.” Kuroo smirked again, that same predatory grin, he could feel his lips brush up against his skin with that one.   
> “Remember that if my team wins, you owe me a kiss and a date.”
> 
> That’s right, Tsukishima threw that thought out of his mind, he just sort of agreed to Kuroo’s terms of their little ‘deal’. Kuroo was a man who seemed to always get his way, and Tsukishima would always play right into his hands. But, he tried to be positive about the whole situation, how good could Kuroo’s team be? Him and Oikawa were practically at each other’s throats the other day over who got to be captain, you could always hear the hatred and annoyance in Oikawa’s voice whenever he talked. Tsukishima couldn’t decide what he found more annoying about the man, his smug attitude or that damn whiney voice of his.
> 
> “And remember if you lose, you have to stop harassing me.” Tsukishima retorted, remembering his side of the deal.
> 
> “We won’t lose, my good luck charm is here.”
> 
> “Must be nice to be so confident.”

“What am I doing here again exactly?” Tsukishima sighed to himself as he stood in the entry way in the gym around the bleacher seats. His eyes looming over the not-nearly-as-crowded as he thought area. 

He told Kuroo he would think about coming here, it wasn’t exactly in his interest that he actually did, but still, here he is. Yamaguchi had pretty much forced him into it, dragging him and pushing him into the gym, knowing very well he didn’t have, nor could call into work today. 

It’s not so much that he didn’t want to come here, he thought about it multiple times, but he was very curious to see Kuroo play, but his thoughts were still just as jumbled as they had been that day at the waffle house. Just thinking about seeing Kuroo made his heart start to race. It’s not like he thought this was love or anything, his only experience with that was the way he overheard people describe it back in high school. If anything, this was a new feeling for Tsukishima, a feeling of anxiousness and slight nervousness at the very thought of Kuroo flashing that sly grin at him from across the room. He still didn’t know him very well, but maybe if he could know him better, he wouldn’t mind this feeling returning.

Tsukishima looked around the room, trying to find a spot that was pretty empty, maybe if he got lucky, Kuroo wouldn’t see him at all, that would be nice, he thought. By the sounds and looks of it, the match hadn’t started yet and they were still doing their stretches, whatever other team they were playing for this practice match hadn’t shown up yet either. He tried not to look, out of the corner of his eyes he could see Kuroo stretching his arms and legs on the floor, his muscles still left a lasting imprint in his mind from that night they spent together at the party. Whenever he closed his eyes, there was Kuroo, stretching, his muscles gripping tightly around the sweats he wore, sweat pouring off of his forehead, doing nothing but making the man more attractive. Even if he did notice him, he didn’t want Kuroo to know how attractive he thought he was, especially like this.

“Tsukki!” A familiar voice echoed from across the room, grapping Tsukishima’s, and everyone else’s attention. His eyes lifted up as he saw Kuroo practically jump off of the floor and sprint towards him, almost cornering him in-between the bleachers as Kuroo’s arm rested by his face. “You actually came?” He sounded half surprised and half pleased, but the look in his eyes was all pleasure.

“Well…” Tsukishima sighed, averting eye contact with him once again. “I had nothing better to do, and I was curious to see how you played.” Another half lie, though, it wasn’t exactly easy for Tsukishima to admit he was actually slightly looking forward to seeing him. 

Tsukishima decided to take this opportunity to look around the rest of the gym, apart from the screaming girls and boys on the other side of bleachers, no doubt they were a part of the ‘Oikawa fan club’, they weren’t kidding when they said they have a lot of people that show up just to watch him play, how many were here? At least twenty or thirty. I guess he was the resident ‘pretty boy’ for a reason. 

A part from Oikawa’s screaming fans, Tsukishima caught glimpse of Nishinoya, the libero, he gave a slight nod to his roommate when they made eye contact, he was kind of surprised Asahi wasn’t here to cheer his boyfriend on, but medical students are probably too busy to even have time to go to a game like this, plus, it’s a pretty competitive field too. 

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Bokuto’s loud voice could be heard over the sounds of the ball hitting the floor as everyone did a round of serves. Tsukishima guessed he was the ace, based off of the powerful force of his spike, it looked like it could have almost left a hole in the floor as you could feel the wind blow past you whenever he hit it.

Another glimpse showed Akaashi and Iwaizumi on the court too. Tsukishima could already tell that Oikawa was the setter based on their warmups, so was Akaashi a back-up setter, in case something happened? Not that you could even hear yourself think over the sounds of the screaming fan club. 

Tsukishima brought his eyes back up to meet Kuroo’s, who was still locked onto the taller boy as his faced leaned into his. He felt like he was being watched, like Kuroo was analyzing him, trying to predict what Tsukishima really wanted to say, and then trying to do something to get him to say it, it was his stupid provoking nature. Tsukishima hated it, but at the same time, he was thankful for it, almost like it gave him an excuse whenever he said something so impulsive to the bedhead, who’s hair still looked just as terrible as always. Did the guy not even own a brush?

“I’m not giving you a good luck kiss.” Tsukishima didn’t even mean to say it, it just sort of slipped out. Instantly regretting his words as Kuroo looked up at him with a satisfied smirk.

“Oh so you want to kiss me? Tsukki, you don’t even have to ask, I would gladly accept any kiss if it came from yo-“

“Captain!” Oikawa’s voice could be heard over everything like a little kid throwing a tantrum in a store, as he marched his way over to where Kuroo and Tsukishima were standing. 

“What is he doing here?” You could hear the annoyance in his voice as he pointed at Tsukishima with his index finger, a volleyball still in his hand.

“I invited him.” Kuroo smirked, proud of that fact. “Did you think you’re the only one who could have a fan club here?” You could feel that same kind of tension between the two of them, the same kind Tsukishima felt briefly that first night Kuroo brought him into the gym. All this just because Kuroo beat Oikawa out of the number one captain spot? It seemed awfully childish, then again, Oikawa did come off as the childish type. “Tsukki is my fan club.” Kuroo threw his arms around the taller man as if it was second nature.

“Huh?” Tsukishima wasn’t even paying attention to Kuroo, all of his attention was focused on the annoyance look in Oikawa’s eyes, until he felt the same warmth emit from his body that he felt whenever Kuroo touched him. To say it felt like a comforting hug was an understatement, it was more of a blanket of reassurance, a feeling that overcomes you and makes you feel so warm, a feeling Tsukishima wasn’t used to, but he knew there was a thought in the back of his mind telling him that maybe he could get used to it.

“Don’t be shy, Tsukki.” Kuroo leaned his face closer in to Tsukishima’s, he could feel his nose press up against his cheek as his lips lightly planted a soft kiss on his face, making him turn a bright shade of red. His lips were different than they were at the party, maybe it was just the lack of that cherry flavored lip balm, but it almost felt different, more meaningful to not be surrounded by loud music and alcohol. Tsukishima wondered if this would be what it would be like to be in a normal relationship with Kuroo. 

Wait, a normal relationship with Kuroo? Would that even be possible?

“Tch.” The annoyance in Oikawa’s voice returned, making all eyes turn to him as he cocked his head to the side, like a little kid who couldn’t have his way. Though, Oikawa was pretty much a little kid in a college kids body, just with a pretty face. 

“Are you picking a fight with the captain again?” Another persons voice echoed as a fourth person walked over to where they were, you could tell Kuroo was ignoring Oikawa and putting all of his attention on Tsukishima, which seemed to piss Oikawa off the most. 

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa’s face lit up as he spun around, bringing himself face to face with Iwaizumi. Tsukishima recognized him as Oikawa’s boyfriend from that night he first met them. That tough look on his face is what made him stand out the most, like someone who was probably more suited for baseball than volleyball. He also seemed very annoyed by Oikawa’s attitude towards Kuroo. “I’m not picking a fight; I just don’t think the captain should be flirting on the job.”

“Heh. Says the two who were just sucking face while changing in the locker room.” Kuroo’s voice teased, it was different than the kind of teasing he did with Tsukishima, this one felt more displeased, like half of him wasn’t joking. 

“It’s none of my business if the captain flirts or not, as long as it doesn’t affect how he plays.” Iwaizumi’s voice was stern, like he wasn’t capable of getting effect by anything anyone says, for lack of a better word, he had too much ‘chill’. “Though, by the looks of it.” Iwaizumi focused his eyes on Kuroo and Tsukishima, causing Tsukishima to scowl. “If the captains got a boyfriend here, he might play at 120% today.”

“Boyfriend?” Tsukishima felt flabbergasted with those words, raising an eyebrow at him. He was sure it was nothing but the teasing from teammates, but he couldn’t tell how serious Iwaizumi was being from the lax tone in his voice.

“Anyway, setter…” Iwaizumi brought his attention back over to Oikawa now, getting the ‘pretty boy’s full attention, his voice almost seemed lighter when he was talking directly to Oikawa. “Don’t you have some warm-ups you need to finish doing?” It almost sounded like he had some ulterior motive in his voice. 

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa boasted again, his voice higher and more whiney than normal. Tsukishima thought about how this guy could get annoying really fast. “I would like to finish doing some warm-ups with you…” Oikawa threw an arm around the more stern looking man, whispering something in his ear that made him jump uneasily. Tsukishima immediately dismissed it as Oikawa probably whispering some half-serious come on to the man, not that Tsukishima about their personal life. If anything, Tsukishima thought it was kind of hypocritical for Oikawa to chastise Kuroo for flirting, and then a few minutes do exactly the same thing. He was definitely one of those kinds of people.

“Don’t let him get to you.” Kuroo interrupted as Oikawa and Iwaizumi walked back off into the other direct, treating them as if they didn’t exist. 

Oikawa had his arm wrapped around Iwaizumi’s waist. When they first met, Tsukishima pegged him for the kind of guy who wasn’t affectionate in public, he thought he was only a few steps away from pushing Oikawa off and smacking him, but he was wrong. It almost looked like Iwaizumi was the one who was initiating everything, and Oikawa was just an eager little puppy that was following him around. 

Tsukishima brought his attention back to Kuroo, who was still just as dangerously close to his face as he had been before, hot breath breathing down his neck that sent that same familiar tingle up Tsukishima’s spine. He forced himself to look ahead at the people who were still practicing on the court, the sounds of ball being spiked against the floor serving as the only sound around them.

“He’s always like that.” Kuroo spoke up again, this time getting Tsukishima’s attention as he turned his head to the side slightly, barely getting a glimpse of Kuroo in his view. “He likes to rile people up, he’s very competitive, and wants all the attention to be on him all the time. Honestly, I don’t know how Iwaizumi puts up with it.” Kuroo laughed, his breath rubbing against the side of Tsukishima, still getting a flustered reaction out of the taller man. “I think he was just feeling inferior that all the eyes in the stands wouldn’t be on him.”  
“So you’re going to assume I’m going to be automatically looking at you?” It was a random outburst from Tsukishima, like a random moment of courage as he looked the bedhead in the eyes. Those dark eyes looked like they could devour the blonde right then and there. It hadn’t been that long since that night they spent together, but Tsukishima couldn’t help but notice this longing urge to have Kuroo press his lips against his own again. The whole thought of Kuroo knowing that Tsukishima wanted him to kiss him made the blonde feel even more flustered than he already was around the man. Given Tsukishima’s personality, there was something almost humiliating about admitting to Kuroo, and to himself that he wouldn’t mind being kissed by the boy again and again. It’s not like he was nervous or trying to hide his feelings or anything, but when you have kind of a closed off personality like Tsukishima does, there’s sort of a sense of pride in not admitting something like that.

“Well, Tsukki.” Kuroo smirked again, that same predatory grin, he could feel his lips brush up against his skin with that one. “Remember that if my team wins, you owe me a kiss and a date.”

That’s right, Tsukishima threw that thought out of his mind, he just sort of agreed to Kuroo’s terms of their little ‘deal’. Kuroo was a man who seemed to always get his way, and Tsukishima would always play right into his hands. But, he tried to be positive about the whole situation, how good could Kuroo’s team be? Him and Oikawa were practically at each other’s throats the other day over who got to be captain, you could always hear the hatred and annoyance in Oikawa’s voice whenever he talked. Tsukishima couldn’t decide what he found more annoying about the man, his smug attitude or that damn whiney voice of his.

“And remember if you lose, you have to stop harassing me.” Tsukishima retorted, remembering his side of the deal.

“We won’t lose, my good luck charm is here.”

“Must be nice to be so confident.” 

Kuroo’s presence messed with Tsukishima’s head, even when he was just there breathing and feeling his eyes locked onto him, he felt like he was instantly paralyzed, willing to do anything this guy says. He felt himself arch his back, he told himself it was just out of habit, when Kuroo ran his fingers off Tsukishima’s shoulders and up through his messy tangled blonde curls. His skin felt hot, like it did that night at the party, there was no doubt that his face was probably bright red right now. That was the thing about having lighter skin, it not only showed bruises easily, but if you blushed, your face automatically looked like a tomato. 

“Anyway.” Kuroo seemed to almost change his demeanor, probably realizing how close they were getting, and knowing he needed to get back to his warm-ups. “After the practice match today, can you stay after while we clean up?”

“Why?” Tsukishima thought it was an unusual request, prior to even arriving here, he thought it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to leave halfway to the match. Even if they weren’t alone, being in the same room as Kuroo made that knot in his stomach reappearing, reminding him of all of the ways Kuroo made him feel whenever he touched him or looked at him.

“Because I want to talk to you.” He winked, provoking like always.

Before he could even give Tsukishima a chance to respond, or even think of a response, he was off, smirking back at the taller boy as he made his way back to the court. Tsukishima couldn’t help but curse him and his good looks as those almost un-natural looking locks of hair got smaller and smaller in his voice.

 

Tsukishime sighed, there was no use backing out now. The other team started to file in from the doors at the opposite side of the gym. Tsukishima wasn’t sure who they were, or what school they were from, the name on their jerseys just had a blue bear for the mascot. But Tsukishima guessed they were from one of the neighboring schools a town or two over.  
Tsukishima decided to take a spot to sit on the bleachers, preferably some place where the Oikawa fan club wasn’t sitting. The perfect option for him seemed to be right in the middle, close enough where Tsukishima shouldn’t be hit by any stray balls that flew off into the stands, and it was a good enough view where he could watch Kuroo play without making it completely obvious that he was only there for the bedhead boy. That was the thing about doing something you really didn’t want to do, once you take those first few steps through the door, everything after that just feels like second nature, at least when it came to being with Kuroo.

Kuroo took a step next to Oikawa, with a volleyball in hand, probably to take his turn to spike the ball as the other team started their stretches from across the court. Kuroo had a natural athletic build, fast reflexes, and was a bit taller than some of the players on the team, he should be able to use that to his advantages. 

“Kuroo!” Oikawa called, in a surprisingly not annoying voice for the first time in his life as he tossed the ball in Kuroo’s direction.

The bedhead had no problem hitting the ball with perfect form, even if he wasn’t a spiker, he still used enough force to hit a powerful shot. It almost surprised Tsukishima as he flashed a smile in his direction. 

“The toss was a little low that time, sorry.” Even from back in the stands, you could still hear the displeasure in Oikawa’s voice. Maybe it was just that Oikawa didn’t like serving people he didn’t get along with.

“’kay.” Kuroo’s voice almost seemed different, not that Tsukishima could hear him perfectly from where he was sitting, if anything, the fact that he was able to still pick up on Kuroo’s voice was amazing. He seemed more intense, like he was focusing and concentrating really hard, maybe the provoking bedhead had a serious side after all.

Tsukishima decided to take this opportunity to pull his phone out of his bag, knowing very well Yamaguchi would be sending him a mountain of text messages. He pretty much pushed Tsukishima into the door of the gym, holding it closed for a few seconds so he couldn’t try to run away at the last possible second. I guess some people would say that’s what best friends were for, but this felt more like a blind date setup than someone watching a practice match for a friend.

Friend. Tsukishima was still having a hard time coming to terms with that word, but he would admit whatever Kuroo and him had was a lot more than just two people who have class together. Though, that didn’t mean he was anywhere close to admitting half of these thoughts in his head to Kuroo.

Tsukishima opened up his phone, looking at the most recent messages from Yamaguchi, who was no doubt back at their dorm room watching Netflix on his laptop or something.

 

Yamaguchi

“Tsukki, are there? Did Kuroo see you? Tell me everything when you get back?”

At least one of the good things about Yamaguchi when it came to texting was that he was a normal texter, someone who didn’t send text after text, he would send just one long paragraph and be done with it. Tsukishima always liked that about him. It’s one of the things that made him much more tolerable as a friend.  
Tsukishima sighed, scowling, thinking for a minute if he should reply or not. Knowing Yamaguchi, if he knew the match was still going on, he would just ‘pretend’ like he didn’t hear his phone buzz and then not respond for a few hours, things were always convenient like that for him.

‘Oh, it’s starting already.’ Tsukishima thought to himself quietly as the players on both sides of the court took position, Kuroo had been wearing the same black and red sweats he had worn that day at the waffle house when they first met. And Tsukishima was starting to believe that he didn’t even own any normal clothes, for him it was either sweats or clothes that looked like they belonged on a New York fashion week runway. Even now, Kuroo was finding new ways to piss him off.

Kuroo took his position in the front line with Oikawa and Bokuto with him, Nishinoya was in the back with Iwaizumi and Akaashi, who was giving Bokuto death glares that were saying ‘stop goofing off’. Tsukishima had to admire Akaashi’s patience in a time like this. He didn’t think he would be able to deal with Bokuto’s antics like he did. He was having a hard enough time dealing with Kuroo’s constant come on’s.

“Nice serve, Akaashi!” you could hear Bokuto’s voice ring out as Akaashi threw the ball above his head, hitting it perfectly in the pal of his hand, it made the usual ‘smacking’ sound as the other team worked quickly to receive the ball. If anything, they were at least a well-rounded team. With people like Bokuto and Iwaizumi for offensive, Oikawa appeared to be an above average setter, and both Kuroo and Nishinoya were skilled in defense. 

It was almost like Kuroo had cat-like reflexes as his body sprung for the ball, stretching out, making his elongated leg muscles that much more noticeable. Everything about Kuroo seemed perfect in Tsukishima’s eyes, his muscles, his hair, his what appeared to be almost non-human like reflexes, even his pink lips, perfect. 

It almost felt like it brought back memories from high school for Tsukishima, he didn’t hate volleyball, he just didn’t see the point in it anymore, it was only a club, a hobby. Hobbies are nice and all, but it’s unrealistic to think most people can do them professionally. Even with all their talent, the team itself just looked like a slight above average team, which was fine, but most people probably weren’t going to this school for its volleyball club, well, unless you’re a part of the Oikawa fan club.

“Nice receive, Kuroo.” Akaashi’s voice sounded just as calm as usual as the players took a brief time out, not that he expecting him to suddenly change when he got on the court. If anything, he was expecting him to be just as calm.

“Thanks.” Kuroo smiled as he grabbed a bottle of water off of bench before Tsukishima saw his eyes scan the room. “Tsukki, did you see that receive, pretty good, right?” Kuroo smiled, waving in Tsukishima’s direction.

“Tch.” Tsukishima’s immediate reaction was to scowl. Why did he have to boast and brag at a time like this? Kuroo was already drawing enough attention to himself from being next to Oikawa, he really didn’t want to associate with someone who didn’t know the definition of the word ‘chill’.

“Tsukki, you better stick around to see some of my sweet spikes!” Bokuto’s voice could probably be heard on the other side of the planet from how loud it was, causing a glared reaction from the coaches, the other team, and even from some of his teammates. That didn’t stop him from rolling up his sleeve and flexes his muscles though.

“Let’s go, ace.” Akaashi grabbed him by the neck of the shirt and dragged him back onto the court, as the coach blew the whistle signaling the end of the time out. You could see the look of excitement in his eyes as Akaashi dragged him off, it was like he took the name ‘ace’ as a complement. 

Kuroo’s eyes stayed locked on Tsukishima’s as he took another sip from the bottle in his hands, Tsukishima gave his signature scowl as he felt the shorter mans eyes refuse to lock off of his. He pissed him off in the best and worst way possible, ever since that day he walked into the waffle house. But maybe half of the things that pissed Tsukishima off weren’t so bad after all, and maybe, just maybe Kuroo was one of those things.

Overall, Kuroo was a lot more impressive than Tsukishima originally thought he would be, not that he really knew what to expect from a guy who the only thing he knew about him was that he was the master of provoking people. But he had amazing reflexes, he’ll give him that.

Tsukishima wasn’t really paying that much attention to the score, his eyes just stayed locked on the bedhead, which had a certain way of bouncing whenever he jumped, only making it more messy and give him this new found desire to want to run his fingers through it. Every so often, Tsukishima would catch Kuroo look in his direction, usually whenever he just got a tough receive from one of the opponents more powerful spikes, or whenever he got a good spike in himself. Tsukishima tried to hide a smile as he watched him play. He wasn’t a jerk, but he definitely had qualities about him that made him an asshole. 

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Nice serve, Kuroo!” Bokuto’s voice echoed across the court, his hand slapping Kuroo across the back as he served a powerful no-touch ace to the other team, you could almost feel the wind blow past you with that one.

Tsukishima finally brought his eyes to look over at the score board on the side of the court, they were already in the second set with Kuroo’s team winning by two points. Well fuck, Tsukishima was on one hand counting on them to lose, now he has to go on a date with Kuroo, it’s not like he was dreading it or anything. But he could practically hear Yamaguchi’s voice in his head telling him that ‘he’s still in that stage of denial’ when it came to liking Kuroo. 

“Tsukki, remember the deal we made!” Kuroo cupped his hand around his mouth, as if it would make it easier for Tsukishima to hear from back in the stands. Why did this guy have a habit of yelling things like that at the worst possible time? No, it wasn’t a habit, Tsukishima was sure he was doing that on purpose.

Tsukishima cocked his head to the side, sending Kuroo a look of displeasure as he gave him that scowl he knew he was used to. Some days Tsukishima really wanted to slap that smug smile right off of Kuroo’s face, and today was slowly turning into one of those days.

Tsukishima zoned out for what felt like several minutes, watching Kuroo’s naturally messy hair bounce back and forth as he jumped against the spikes of the players on the other team, blocking them in what looked like an effortless attempt. He noted the grin that would appear on Kuroo’s face every time he got a successful block on, it was still a smug look, like everything about Kuroo seemed to be, but something about it looked different, like maybe he was happy. He wasn’t used to seeing Kuroo like that, and he thought maybe that was a look that he wanted to see more of on the bedheads face.

 

“Tsukki, did you see my blocks? Pretty good, right?” Kuroo boasted as he walked his way over to Tsukishima at the end of the match, Tsukishima was standing in the entryway between one of the sets of doors and gym, trying not to get into anyone’s way as the two teams said their ‘thank you’s and their ‘goodbye’s.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Tsukki, did you see my sweet spikes? Kuroo and I make a powerful team!” Bokuto boasted just as loudly, waving his arms in the air like he was expecting some kind of reaction.

“They were good.” That was about as close to a compliment that Tsukishima could muster right now, he wasn’t flustered or anything, but he wasn’t exactly ready to tell Kuroo he was the best thing ever.

“Just good?” Kuroo smirked, slipping one of his arms around Tsukishima’s waist, pulling him closer to the bedheads chest, he noted the volleyball that was tucked snuggly under his arm. “You know you owe me a kiss and a date now, right?” Kuroo spoke slowly, almost like he was trying to seduce Tsukishima. As if he could forget something like that.

“What a shame, I was looking forward to getting some peace and quiet.” Was Tsukishima teasing him? He didn’t mean for it to sound like he was almost egging him on, but Tsukishima’s tone almost sounded friendly as he spoke to Kuroo.

“Hmm.” Kuroo smirked, ignoring whatever new tone came out of Tsukishima’s voice. 

“Anyway.” Tsukishima interrupted Kuroo, he didn’t know what strange, new come-on the man was about to retort in an attempt to flirt with him, but he wasn’t falling for it. Being this close to Kuroo was already dangerous enough, he could feel the heat radiating off of his body as their chests were only centimeters apart, as his eyes noticed the sweat pouring off his brow down to his chin. That must have been quite a workout. “What did you want to talk about?” Tsukishima pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, as he locked eyes with Kuroo once again. It took everything he had in him to fight the urge to want to touch Kuroo’s broad shoulders, as his muscles clung around his drenched shirt from the sweat.

“Well-“ Kuroo began, even though Tsukishima already had an idea.

“Eh, captain! You can flirt with your boy-toy or whatever after you clean!” Oikawa’s voice still had that whiney, stubborn tone to it. It was like the very existence of Kuroo just pissed him off, and the same look of annoyance was written all over his face.

“Alright fine, you don’t have to be so pushy.” Kuroo sighed, taking his hands off of Tsukishima’s waist, he felt slightly relieved, feeling the muscles in his brain start to work properly again. “Trashy-kawa.” Kuroo muttered the nickname under his breath, grinning as if someone just told him a funny joke.

“What did you call me?” Oikawa snapped, placing a hand on his hip as he furrowed his eyebrows, getting a serious look in his eyes.

“Oh nothing, just a little name I picked up from Iwaizumi.” There was that provoking smirk again, it was different seeing it being directed towards someone who wasn’t Tsukishima, almost refreshing.

Oikawa gasped. “Iwa-chan, how dare you!” His tone sounded like a cross between offended, and like he was trying to hold back laughter. Tsukishima knew next to nothing about Oikawa and Iwaizumi, not that he cared to know anything about them, but he could tell that whenever Iwaizumi said or did anything, Oikawa would be there. Even if he pissed him off, he wouldn’t show it, he would still follow him around like a little puppy dog.

“Come on, trashy-kawa, if you don’t hurry up and clean, then I won’t buy you some milk bread on the way home.” Iwaizumi’s voice was bland and serious, like always, but it still seemed to draw a happy emotion from the setter.

“Iwa-chan!” It was like Oikawa forget Kuroo and Tsukishima’s existence, as he happily walked off in Iwaizumi’s direction.

“That should shut him up for a while, he hates that insult if it comes from anyone besides Iwaizumi.” Kuroo’s tone was more confident than normal as his eyes briefly looked at the floor before looking back at Tsukishima, who was still standing next to him. “Tsukki, why don’t you help us clean up? You can just go around and pick up the stray balls on the court?” He couldn’t tell if it sounded more like an order than a question, as Kuroo tossed the ball that was under his arm towards Tsukishima, he caught it almost effortlessly as it felt snug in the palm of his hands. “Oh and…” Kuroo leaned in, he seemed to have a lot to say today.

It wasn’t a regular kiss, not like when Kuroo and him kissed that night at the party. Kuroo’s lips lightly grazed Tsukishima’s kiss, still managing to get a blush out of the taller man. That didn’t hide the fact that his lips were still warm though, warm and soft. It was gone just as quickly as it came, barely giving Tsukishima enough time to register in his mind what was happening, by the time he knew that Kuroo was kissing him, he could only enjoy it for a second before it was gone. 

Tsukishima thought about retorting with some half-clever quip. Saying ‘you’re just going to kiss someone randomly like that’, but he decided not to. Sometimes being silent is just a better option.

He watched for a moment as Kuroo ran over to Bokuto and Akaashi, Tsukishima assumed he was telling them what to do, what to clean up, maybe even having some small talk with them here and there. Tsukishima tossed the volleyball in his hands up and down for a few seconds, it had been several years since he last held one, since his last year in high school, it felt good. He had no intention of playing again, but maybe, if Kuroo asked him to, he would help him with serving, or whatever else he needed practice with, anything really.

He didn’t hate volleyball, and he definitely didn’t hate Kuroo, he pissed him off more than anything, but that didn’t matter anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another slower chapter, but I'm still pretty happy with how this one turned out. Also just a disclaimer, I'm at the end of winter break and start going back to school this week, so chapter updates probably won't be every 2-3 days like I've been trying to do, but I'll still try to update this story once a week! :)


	7. Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, Tsukki. When did you want to do our date?” Kuroo’s words were almost hard to make out as he shoved another bite into his mouth.
> 
> “Can you not talk with your mouth full?” Tsukishima’s tone was as bland as ever, as he opened up the granola and took a bite. He didn’t even know what he was expecting, probably something chalked with protein and wheat, but what he got was something almost sweet, not a candy bar, but definitely not a typical granola bar either.
> 
> Kuroo swallowed the food that was in his mouth, he looked like he was giving off an apologetic look, though he had to be well aware of how incoherent his words were. “I was thinking on Saturday, neither of us have weekend classes, so I think it would be best if-“

Bounce. Bounce.

Tsukishima threw the ball down onto the floor and let bounce back up into his hands a few times, feeling the ball comfortably in his palm, the ball itself was just the generic yellow and blue striped pattern one he was used to from back in high school, it even felt just the same. He thought it himself many times before, he didn’t hate volleyball, he just didn’t have the passion for it anymore. That was the thing about hobbies, they were fun, most of the time when people start them it’s for fun, few people are actually able to make a living off of their hobbies, but for Tsukishima, the passion was gone, he had no reason to play anymore.

His eyes noted the dark blue cart that laid still on the other side of the court, he picked up the ball he was bouncing and walked over to it, his eyes observed everyone else’s position around the room. Some people were still doing their after-game stretches, a few others were eating snacks out of their bags, and a handful of people were in the supply closet in the corner of the room gathering mops and brooms out of it. Kuroo was the one in the middle, he reached into his bag and pulled out what looked like some sort of granola or protein bar. Bokuto and Akaashi were sitting on the floor on a side off near the bleachers, both doing their post-game stretches, Tsukishima could pick up on bits and pieces of their conversation. Right now, Bokuto was yammering about how he wanted to go get some food after they clean up, and Akaashi was giving him soft spoken answers, probably suggestions about where they could eat, or reminding Bokuto that they still had homework to do. It was Monday night after all.

Tsukishima placed the ball in the cart, letting it fall snuggly in a mixture of the rest of the balls. It was like those crane game machines you see at arcades and sometimes at stores at the mall, everything seems to fit snuggly against each other, making it hard to get just one of them out.

Tsukishima’s eyes fell down, noticing a group of three volleyballs that were lying on the floor, right next to the crate. Seriously, are people really this lazy? He understood it was from their warmups, but still. It was like when you’re at a store and someone is looking at something, they pick it up off the shelf, put it in their cart for a little while, and then later decide they don’t want it. But instead of just putting it back where they got it, they put it down at the nearest convenient place. Those kinds of people drove Tsukishima crazy. He didn’t work in retail, but working as a waiter was probably just as bad, you had your indecisive people who couldn’t order, you had your regulars who were easy to read and always ordered the same thing (thank god), you had the overly friendly people who liked to treat the waiter like he was there personal best friend. Is it too much to ask just to place your order and go?

Kuroo was a completely different kind of customer though, he wasn’t the bitchy complaining kind, or the overly friendly kind, if anything, he was the determined kind, the kind of person who knows exactly what he wants and doesn’t settle for less. In some aspects that could be a good thing, but Tsukishima knew that right now the thing that Kuroo wanted was him. If it wasn’t already completely obvious with his come-ons, and the way he wanted to get Tsukishima’s attention, to provoke him. Tsukishima did make the first move to kiss him that night, but it was all because Kuroo provoked him, making his lips look so irresistible and his hands so warm and comforting as he touched them all over Tsukishima’s body. Damn that perfect man. 

“Want one?” Speaking of that perfect man. 

Tsukishima lightly turned around on his feet, one of the volleyballs he picked up off the floor still in hand. Kuroo was standing there, still shorter than him, with the granola or protein bar in his mouth. His words had a certain slur to them as he talked now, from the food in his mouth. Up close, Tsukishima could tell that it was supposed to be some kind of snack bar, like a treat to hold you over until dinner or something. He hadn’t had anything to eat since lunch, but he wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of sharing food with Kuroo. Well, he wasn’t thrilled with Kuroo knowing that he was thrilled with the idea. Tsukishima on the other hand would be thrilled sharing everything with Kuroo until the end of time. 

“No thank you.” Tsukishima lowered his eyes in what felt like a somber look, not that it deterred Kuroo away from him.

“You sure? I’ve got enough in my bag for the whole team, I won’t mind giving you one.” Was Kuroo trying to be considerate? He was friendly, almost too friendly, it creeped Tsukishima out, he was so used to the man just making flirty passes at him every second. He always acknowledged that he had other sides to him, other sides that made him an actual decent human being, but Kuroo never did exactly come off as the caring, considerate type.

“It’s fine, I can just eat when I get back to my dorm. Or grab something at the cafeteria on the way home.” Tsukishima had this little voice go off in his head, telling ‘what was so wrong about being considerate too’? Would there be something so bad about accepting Kuroo’s offer? It was just food, and he was already here helping him, if there was ever a time to be shy, now wasn’t the time.

Kuroo’s eyes almost looked disappointed? Really? Talk about expressing a new emotion. Was he doing it on purpose, was he legitimately disappointed, or was he just trying to provoke Tsukishima again. With Kuroo, you could never really tell.

“Alright, fine. I’ll eat your stupid granola bar, just don’t give me that look, you look like a sad puppy.” Tsukishima wasn’t sure what snapped in him, the sadness in Kuroo’s eyes, or his willingness to say anything to Kuroo. Even if it was fake, he just didn’t want to see him sad.

“I figured you’d say that, Tsukki.” As if he was doing some sort of magic trick, Kuroo pulled another granola bar out of his pocket, handing it to Tsukishima as he tugged the volleyball in his hands underneath one of his arms. “Though, I’m much more of a cat than a puppy.” Kuroo gave that same sly grin that Tsukishima was used to.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes, if he didn’t have the bar in one hand and the ball in the other, he probably would have pinched the bridge of his nose to signify how annoyed he was right now. But he didn’t, maybe it was because his hands were full, or he knew he wasn’t actually annoyed, but he found himself almost wanting to laugh and smile. Kuroo wasn’t even that funny of a guy, just about everything that came out of his mouth was mediocre at best. 

He did have to give him one thing though, he did share some similarities between cats. He was a hunter, the kind of person who was stalking his prey, ready to devour them and toy with them, he learned that well enough from the night at the party. He also had fast reflexes, way faster than Tsukishima had imagined, he was quite impressive. Then there were his eyes, they were always so dark, like they could blend into the night sky, then again that might have just been the shadow from his long bangs and messy hair, but Tsukishima found himself staring at those dark eyes for a long time, getting lost in them.

“So, Tsukki. When did you want to do our date?” Kuroo’s words were almost hard to make out as he shoved another bite into his mouth.

“Can you not talk with your mouth full?” Tsukishima’s tone was as bland as ever, as he opened up the granola and took a bite. He didn’t even know what he was expecting, probably something chalked with protein and wheat, but what he got was something almost sweet, not a candy bar, but definitely not a typical granola bar either.

Kuroo swallowed the food that was in his mouth, he looked like he was giving off an apologetic look, though he had to be well aware of how incoherent his words were. “I was thinking on Saturday, neither of us have weekend classes, so I think it would be best if-“

“I have to work then.” It was a lie, Tsukishima had his weekends free until the end of time, especially his Saturdays, thanks to Hinata always requesting to work the shift then. He knew he couldn’t keep doing this, he knew one day he would tell Kuroo he had to work when he didn’t, and then Kuroo and Bokuto would probably show up to the waffle house to find him not there. It’s not like he wanted to lie to him, he just wasn’t sure if that damn pride of his was ready to admit anything to him yet.

“Okay, when are you free? We both only have one afternoon class on Friday, so we could always do it then. Or if you’re not free very often, I could always skip a class. It’s not like I care that much about the Lit. class I’m taking anyways.”

“Skipping class is a sure way to get yourself in trouble with the dean.” Akaashi spoke like the voice of reason from the other side of the room.

This was definitely new, Kuroo was being nice, considerate, he made no move to put his hands on Tsukishima, and the ‘asshole’ attitude Tsukishima always said he had was nowhere to be found. It was almost like Kuroo was acting like a normal person. Maybe if Kuroo could act normal, Tsukishima could too.

“You can’t really skip classes if you’re on a sports team, the dean won’t have it.” Akaashi’s voice rang out again, Kuroo was supposed to be the captain, but at times it felt like Akaashi was the only level-headed one here.

“We can do it on Saturday.” Tsukishima sighed, swallowing whatever pride he had been trying so hard to keep. 

Kuroo brought his attention back over to Tsukishima, a surprised expression on his face. “Huh?”

“For work on Saturday, I can try to get out of it.” 

“Really?” In that moment, Kuroo looked just like Bokuto, face lit up with a smile like an excited dog, or kitten. “It’s a date then, be at Bo’s place around noon.” He beamed. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but Tsukishima thought to Kuroo, it meant the world. He still hadn’t addressed whatever their relationship is, but he would take this as a sign that he didn’t just want to be fuck buddies.

“Oooh, double date!” Bokuto yelled as he eagerly jumped off the floor, running over to where Kuroo and Tsukishima were. Both Kuroo and Bokuto gave each other a high five, as if they were proud that Tsukishima would be joining them on Saturday. “Don’t worry, dudes. I’ll bring the movies and popcorn. Tsukki, do you like scary movies?” Bokuto was far too excited for something like this.

“They’re okay I guess.” Tsukishima particularly hate them. In his mind, he could already picture Kuroo doing the cliché ‘wrapping their arm around the dates shoulder’ move. If he pulled any cheesy things like that, he was going to slap him.

“Bo, don’t you have to go finish cleaning up?” Kuroo turned to face the spikey haired owl. Tsukishima was pretty sure it was just an attempt to get Bokuto to go over towards Akaashi so he could say something to Tsukishima in private.

“Didn’t you used to play volleyball, Tsukishima?” As if that was his cue, Akaashi walked over and joined the conversation. Tsukishima admired that Akaashi was the only one out of the three of them who actually called him by his proper last name, at least one of them wasn’t a simpleton. 

“Yeah, back in high school.” Tsukishima had this talk with Kuroo before, but it was the first time he mentioned it to Akaashi, apparently Bokuto already knew about it.

“Oooh!” Bokuto boasted again, he was like a little kid high on sugar, way too bouncy and energetic. “Akaashi, set the ball for him, I want to see him spike!”

“What?” In perfect unison, both Akaashi and Tsukishima looked at the owl like he just told them he robbed a bank.

“It’s been several years, that’s a bad idea, I was a middle blocker anyway.” Closing his eyes briefly, he could definitely see where this conversation was going. He didn’t hate volleyball, but he wasn’t ready to play it again.

“Then Tsukki, jump some blocks for me!” Bokuto jumped up and down in the air. You could even see the look of sympathy on Kuroo’s face with that one. Akaashi just meant to have a small conversation, but now he started something he knew he shouldn’t have.

Tsukishima took another bite of the granola bar, finishing it off and slipping the wrapper into his pocket, as Bokuto reached forward, grabbing Tsukishima by the wrists in an attempt to pull him closer to the net. Kuroo mentioned before that Bokuto was strong, he’d give him that, he felt like Bokuto could carry him over his shoulders. You could feel the beads of sweat pouring off Bokuto’s wrists and hands as they now dripped onto Tsukishima’s body. Tsukishima shot Kuroo a look that asked him if there was anything to do when Bokuto gets like this. He mentioned it before, but Bokuto got in various mood swings quite frequently.

“Bo, I’ll jump some too.” It felt like it was the only thing Kuroo could do to make up for the sudden outburst of his friend. Was it already too late to back out of something like this?

Sighing and feeling the annoyance overcome him, Tsukishima didn’t think he had much of a choice here. Bokuto was stubborn and persistent, and he feared he would throw some kind of tantrum if he bolted for the door now. Not that Tsukishima wanted to leave, in the back of his mind he felt like Kuroo hadn’t quite finished saying all the things he wanted to say to him. If anything, he was just trying to please Bokuto so they could talk alone.

“Akaashi, give me a toss!” Bokuto stuck one of his fists in the air, like he was demanding something as he walked to the other side of the net. Kuroo stood next to Tsukishima, placing his hands on his shoulders, it was like he was saying ‘it’ll be over soon’.

“Sorry.” Akaashi spoke softly through the other side of the net. “When he gets like this he becomes somewhat unmanageable. His stamina is pretty much limitless and he can go on for hours.” It felt more like Akaashi was a mother apologizing for the behavior of an unruly child than someone apologizing for their boyfriend.

Tsukishima pinched the bridge of his nose. “One block.” He really didn’t want to play volleyball right now. Now he just wanted to go back to his dorm room and take a nap. He didn’t hate it, but being forced to do something you don’t really want to do is unsettling for everyone.

“Tsukki.”

“What?” Tsukishima slanted his head to the side, getting a glimpse of Kuroo behind him. He was still shorter than him, but Kuroo seemed to almost tower over him with his broad shoulders.

As if Kuroo was getting ready to say something, Tsukishima assumed it was some other underhanded flirty comment, he could already feel the slight annoyance wash over him as he tried to imagine the most cringe worthy comment Kuroo could say. But, to everyone’s dismay, he was interrupted by the whiney voice of Oikawa, he was standing on the sidelines, his arms crossed in an aggravated manner, with Iwaizumi in tow.

“Oh no, glasses-kun is not joining our volleyball team!” His voice sounded worse than normal, if that was even possible. It was like he was ordering it, Tsukishima didn’t know what everyone did to piss him off, but Oikawa seemed angry all the time. How did anyone deal with him? He was far worse than Kuroo.

“Now there’s a thought.” Kuroo smirked, Tsukishima could feel his large arms wrap around him from behind. He could catch the hint of playfulness in his voice as he was slightly taken off balance by the shorter man, feeling his whole body lean into Kuroo, sending that same warm feeling throughout his body. Damn, why was this man so warm?

“Tsukki, you should join the volleyball team! We could totally use more players!” There was Bokuto’s over-excitement again, almost bouncing up and down with glee.

Was that even possible? College sports were quite different than high school, it’s not like any random person could just join mid-way through the year. If it was any other club, sure, but sports clubs were quite a bit different. Not that Tsukishima wanted to join anyway, today was the first day he held a volleyball in his hands in years, he wasn’t going to be so gung ho to join just because both Kuroo and Bokuto thought he should.

“Is that even possible?” Tsukishima decided to use whatever excuse first came to mind. Spending more time with Kuroo wasn’t a bad thing, he told himself time and time again that he wanted to get to know him better, but volleyball wasn’t something he was into anymore.

“Yeah.” Kuroo cooed in his ear. There was that voice again, that soft voice of his that could practically convince Tsukishima to do anything. “Outside of our six regulars, and Nishinoya, we have a pretty small team. It doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of the year, if someone wants to join, and they have decent talent, we’ll let them.”

“Your height would be a good asset.” Akaashi added in, it was weird to hear him say something willingly if it wasn’t to Bokuto.

“Sorry, but I’m kind of through with volleyball.” Tsukishima didn’t really feel like having this conversation right now, he didn’t want to play volleyball anymore, and that was that. He was only hear right now to talk to Kuroo. Bokuto just managed to rope him into jumping some blocks for him. Though, this whole conversation was technically Oikawa’s fault, he started it. Tsukishima was starting to see why everyone called him ‘trashy-kawa’.

You could see Bokuto’s pouting face from across the net, it was different than Kuroo’s, Kuroo’s was more provoking, he knew just how to tilt his head to the side and stick out his lower lip to get anyone and everyone to play right into his hands, Bokuto on the other hand, just looked like vague disappointment. Then again, he wasn’t exactly known for provoking people, unlike the bedhead who still had his arms around Tsukishima.

“Well good, because I’m not setting to him either way.” Oikawa pouted, clicking his tongue as he turned his head to the side. It was hard to tell which one of them could throw a bigger tantrum, Bokuto or Oikawa, at least Bokuto was tolerable and funny at times, but what redeeming qualities did Oikawa have exactly, other than his ‘pretty boy’ looks?

“Oikawa, why don’t you surprise us all by being pleasant?” Kuroo turned his head to face the pretty boy, who was still in a stand-off-ish pose. 

“Tch.” All Oikawa could muster was another click of his tongue, turning his back to the group of them and wrapping his arms around Iwaizumi from behind, resting his head on his shoulder. “We’ve finished our cleaning so we’ll be going now.” Iwaizumi seemed almost unamused, but you could see him effortlessly entangle his fingers with Oikawa’s.

“Bye, Trashy-kawa.” Kuroo smirked, Tsukishima could hear the slight ‘hum’ in his ear coming from the bed headed man, tickling against the side of his face. Both Oikawa and Iwaizumi stormed out of the room, without another word to the group. “He’s fun to tease.” 

“Is all this just about the title of captain?” Tsukishima questioned. He didn’t care for Oikawa, or care to know him, but he seemed awfully petty for someone who had to wear the number ‘2’ jersey. If he was this unpleasant all the time, Tsukishima wondered how anyone put up with him.

“Oikawa’s got his pride, and loyalty to the things that he cares about. He’s tough to get along with, but he knows what he’s doing. If anything, I think he’s just in a bitter mood because Kuroo moved here from across the country, and he got to be captain instead of Oikawa.” Akaashi was always so calm when he spoke, Tsukishima got the sense that he really knew how to deal with people, he was friends with Bokuto and Kuroo after all, so he probably had to have a high level of tolerance, but even then, he knew how to deal with people like Oikawa. It was quite impressive, really.

“Anyway.” Kuroo hummed, as if he wanted to change the subject. Not that anyone wants to spend more than a few seconds talking about Oikawa. “Let’s block. I trust you know what to do, Tsukki, even though it’s been awhile? Or if not, I can show you.” Kuroo removed his arms from Tsukishima, but still keeping his face dangerously close to the blonde. 

Tsukishima felt the same provoking attitude as he did that night Kuroo convinced him to go ‘help’ him with something in the gym. If it wasn’t for Bokuto and Akaashi being here, he felt that they might have a repeat of what happened that night. Not that he was opposed to it.

“I’ll be fine.” Tsukishima turned his head to scowl at Kuroo, thinking that would get him to back up from him, but it only did the opposite.

Kuroo had the same provoking look he always had in his eyes, but this time it felt like he was saying ‘you gonna kiss me?’ He did still owe him that kiss from the bet they made, but Tsukishima wasn’t so eager to give the man what he wanted just yet. Maybe that look was just from the enthusiastic aura Kuroo was projecting as Bokuto and Akaashi took their places on the other side of the net.

Bokuto held the volleyball in his hands, spinning it up and down a few times as Akaashi waited for him to throw it up in the air towards him. Kuroo finally took his stance to the left of Tsukishima, his broad shoulders made him almost look twice as wide as the blonde, he held both of his hands out about shoulder width apart, eager with anticipation.

“Akaashi!” Bokuto yelled, throwing the ball up in the air, like he was all but demanding a perfect toss. During the entire practice match with the other school, Oikawa played setter the whole time, so he never got to see Akaashi set the ball, he was curious, but he also had to admit that the two of them did make a pretty good team.

Akaashi didn’t look like he was quite as skilled as Oikawa, but as he tossed the ball to Bokuto you could feel how synched the two of them were. Well, they had been friends for a long time, so that did make sense. It was a bit of a slower toss, but it still managed to hit perfectly off of Bokuto’s hand when he spiked it. Both Kuroo and Tsukishima jumped in what felt like perfect unison, raising their hands high above the net, fingertips elongated, like they were claws reaching out to stop the ball. It had been so long since Tsukishima did this, he almost forgot what it felt like, the way you can feel your feet leave the ground, almost like you’re flying, you feel stronger when you extend your fingers, like all of your energy is being focused there. It was nice feeling.

There’s a huge difference between watching people do something, and then doing it for yourself. Even with volleyball, it was like Tsukishima was back in high school again, feeling that satisfaction when it touches your fingers and you deny a spiker a point. Just a few moments ago they were talking about Oikawa’s pride, but Tsukishima still had some pride of his own.

“Not bad.” Akaashi smirked, probably the first time Tsukishima has actually seen this guy smile, his eyes looked like they were impressed.

“Looks like Tsukki still has some skills.” Kuroo smirked, looking over at him, though they both knew blocking that spike was a team effort.

“Are you trying to provoke me?” Tsukishima turned his head to face Kuroo.

“Is it working?” He smirked, once again giving Tsukishima the urge to kiss him and smack him at the same time. “I still want that kiss, you know?” His tone was less than serious, but Tsukishima thought maybe that was his way of asking nicely. Kuroo didn’t seem like the kind of person who would beg for anything, but Tsukishima wouldn’t mind giving him what he wanted from time to time.

“Ooh, I can go get some mistletoe!” Bokuto chimed in, giving Kuroo a look that told him he knew he was the best wingman ever.

“It’s not even close to Christmas.” Tsukishima sighed, his voice just as bland as it usually was. 

“Save the wingman stuff for Saturday, Bo!” Kuroo raised one of his hands up about mid-way up his chest, like he was saying ‘don’t worry about it’. 

He mentioned before that Bokuto was the ‘best wingman ever’, but it wasn’t until now that he was starting to understand why. Bokuto was above all else, a good friend, he was good at knowing what his friends liked and what the people his friends on crushes on liked. They said Oikawa was loyal, but Bokuto was on a whole other level.

Tsukishima immediately tried to purge any thoughts of Saturday from his mind, he was looking forward to it, sure, but maybe it was just the fear of the unknown, but with Kuroo, you never really know what he has planned. He’s unpredictable, in the best and worst ways possible.

Tsukishima had to give the three of them credit where credit was due, they were good, with Kuroo’s broad muscles and blocking skills, Bokuto’s energy and ability to hit a powerful spike, and Akaashi’s setting skills that seemed to be in perfect synch with Bokuto, they had talent. 

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, ten, maybe twenty minutes, he had no idea what was keeping him here, he had jumped some blocks and the oly logical conclusion in his mind was telling him to say his goodbyes and leave. They appeared to be the only ones left too, as Nishinoya gave a subtle wave and ran out the door, the last one leaving. 

“One more!” Bokuto yelled in his signature enthusiastic voice. They weren’t kidding when they said Bokuto had almost limitless stamina for this sort of thing.

“Bo, that’s been ten.” Kuroo laughed, placing his arms on his hips, Tsukishima could feel his prescense looming over him, Kuroo was a master of provoking, not just with Tsukishima, but with everyone, if there was anyone who could get him to stop, it was him.

“Tsukki, what did you think?” Bokuto yelled again, pointing his index finger in Tsukishima’s direction this time.

“Of what?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. Where exactly was he trying to steer this conversation to?

It wasn’t like the work was hard, blocking felt like second nature to Tsukishima at this point, probably from all of the time he spent on volleyball in high school, but he could still feel a feint amount of sweat pour down his body, but then again maybe that was just from Kuroo standing next to him. There were multiple occasions where Tsukishima could feel his arms bump up against Kuroo’s as they jumped together, he was sure it was unintentional, but every time the skin of their exposed arms touched, he could feel his heart race. Kuroo felt so warm, eve drenched in sweat, he felt himself wanting to jump some more so their arms could touch again and again. Damn it, why did Kuroo make him feel this way?

“Of our match today, of this practice, of our blockers?” You could tell Bokuto was trying to hint at something, he was just terrible at it.

“Yeah Tsukki, what did you think of the blockers?” Like a cat getting ready to pounce on its prey, Kuroo almost cornered Tsukishima against the net, grinning as he brought their faces only inches apart. What Tsukishima would have given right now to kiss him, actually.

“They were fine.” Tsukishima wasn’t really one to be described as evasive, but in this situation, avoiding Kuroo’s eyes was the only option. He knew the longer he looked at him, the more he would feel himself crumbling under the man’s touch.

“Just fine? Tsukki, I’m a little disappointed, I figured you would say something a bit more than that.” Kuroo was definitely the king of provoking people, Tsukishima could feel himself start to get annoyed the longer Kuroo pried at him. 

“What do you want me to say? Get down on my knees and tell you you’re the best blocker in the whole world?” He meant it as a joke, an annoyed quip to just try to shut down on Kuroo. But even Tsukishima could feel his own pride crumbling under the bedhead.

“Actually yes, that’s exactly what I want you to say, Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed the nickname he gave him in his ear, tickling against the side of his face. He hadn’t noticed it, or more like he didn’t care enough to pay attention to it, but the various bruises and bite marks around Kuroo’s neck and jawline seemed much more visible under the light of the gym. Kuroo’s complexion wasn’t nearly as light as Tsukishima’s so it was hard to make out from a distance, but they were there, reminding him of the vagarious night they spent together at that party. Is that what would happen again on Saturday? 

“Tch.” Tsukishima clicked his tongue, pushing Kuroo off of him with a small yet swift motion, as he proceeded to head for the door. “Well, if you’re done with blocks, then I’ll be heading out, I’ll see you on Saturday, Kuroo.” He said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world, it amazed Tsukishima how easy that just rolled off of his tongue, he had a habit of saying things so naturally like that around Kuroo.

“Tsukki!” Kuroo cooed again, this time from a few feet behind him. He could see Bokuto and Akaashi out of the corner of his eye, both of them staring eagerly at what Kuroo was going to do next, well, Bokuto was eager, Akaashi still had that ‘calm’ expression on his face.

“What?” Tsukishima turned around, facing Kuroo with a half annoyed glare in his eyes.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

In that instant, Tsukishima weighed the options in his head, he could pretend like he didn’t know what Kuroo was talking about, he could just walk away with that annoyed look, he could kiss him, or he could try to get him to say it. The thing about Kuroo was that he knew he was always right, he was provoking, wanted people to play right into his hands, and he never begged or asked for anything, if anything, he just provoked you to offer something up. That was probably what pissed Tsukishima off the most. He wouldn’t do anything for him just because he asked, but playing right into his hands didn’t quite feel right.

“Hmm… no.” Tsukishima took another few steps forward, picking up his school bag off of the bleachers where he was sitting only a few moments ago.

“Tsukki!” Both Bokuto and Kuroo gasped in unison, they sounded like someone just told them the most chocking news they’ve ever heard.

‘Tsukki, baby, don’t talk like that, I’m so wounded.” Kuroo placed his hand over top of his heart, doing his usual ‘fake wounded’ act again. He crouched over as he got a fake sympathy pat on his back from Bokuto. He was trying so hard to fake cry, it almost made Tsukishima feel bad for him, he must have really wanted that kiss. 

Tsukishima pondered for a few minutes, remembering that feeling in his chest and stomach whenever Kuroo and him touched, and that feeling when they kissed, the way Kuroo’s lips felt so soft on his, and how he drew in a little bit of breath right before their lips met. Tsukishima wanted to feel that again. Oh, what the hell, why not?

“Don’t think this means I like you or anything.” Tsukishima picked up his bag from the bleachers, throwing it over his shoulders as he stepped back over to Kuroo.

Akaashi whispered something to Bokuto and the two of them walked off, hand in hand, despite their personality difference, they made the perfect couple. The way Bokuto seemed to have a romantic side when he was around Akaashi, jumping with excitement whenever they touched. Tsukishima thought maybe one day that could be Kuroo and him. Maybe he was just starting to warm up to the bedhead, but just like Yamaguchi told him, he had to admit it, he couldn’t hide his feelings forever, if anything, he knew we liked Kuroo as more than just a friend, he wouldn’t have come to watch this practice match if he didn’t like him at least a little bit.

Smirking, Kuroo all but leaped off the ground, bringing himself as close to eye level with Tsukishima as he could. He didn’t think they could recreate the same feeling they had when they kissed at the party, but dammit he was going to try.

It was short, though it was probably better to keep it that way. Tsukishima thought he was the one to initiate the kiss, but it was Kuroo who was in control, though, this was probably what he wanted all along, he knew just what to say and what to do to get Tsukishima to play right into his hands, even with this damn pride of his.

As soon as Tsukishima’s lips pressed against Kuroo’s he felt that feeling again, the same one from the party, Kuroo’s soft lips were like a drug, the more you encountered them, the more you wanted. He was too caught up with Kuroo’s mouth to even notice Kuroo’s hands slithering around his waist to pull him closer. His teeth biting down as Tsukishima took a moment to suck in a deep breath, getting a moan out of the taller man as Kuroo’s teeth pulled on his lower lip. 

It went just as quickly as it came, but it was enough, enough to get by. It barely gave you enough time to process what was going on, but the image of Kuroo’s face just inches away from his, the look of his closed eyes, and the way his messy hair tickled Tsukishima’s face as their lips brushed against each other’s. His lips felt wet from the sweat, but it didn’t matter, was it really a bad thing to play right into Kuroo’s hands like that?

“See you on Saturday.” That was about all he could muster as he forced himself not to look at Kuroo in the eyes, he knew he wouldn’t last long with those dark eyes.  
“Tsukki.” Kuroo’s voice hummed, it was that same provoking voice he was used to. Tsukishima didn’t even bother to look at him as he made his way towards the door. “Let’s continue this on Saturday.” He was doing it on purpose, the teasing, Tsukishima was sure of it.

Tsukishima clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath, knowing very well he would fall into the hands of the provoking bedhead again very soon. “Jerk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really wanted to get this chapter out on KuroTsukki day, so here it is. Also happy KuroTsukki day. Next chapter, date time!   
> Also, thank you guys so much for all the nice comments and over 100 kudos, really helps keep me motivated to continue this story.


	8. Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What did you call me?” Tsukishima was forced to bring his attention immediately to Kuroo. It was no surprise that Kuroo talked about him, even less of a surprise that he would him a nickname other than ‘Tsukki’, but what exactly was Kenma going to say if he finished that sentence?
> 
> “Oh nothing, Tsukki, you’re still my favorite kitten.” As if he was trying to distract him, Kuroo placed his hand on the edge of Tsukishima’s chin, running his thumb over the edges of it.
> 
> “Don’t try to sway the conversation.” Tsukishima swat his hand off his chin. “And I’m not your boyfriend.”
> 
> “Not yet.”

Tsukishima has no idea what he was doing, well, that wasn’t true, he knew exactly what he was doing, he was almost to the point where he was too self aware, too conscious of his actions to the point where he was questioning himself.

Yamaguchi being the best friend that he is, all but pushed Tsukishima the whole way to Bokuto’s apartment, egging him on. Tsukishima could still hear Yamaguchi’s excited words in his ear ‘come on, you told him you’d be here, you’ve already kissed him twice, so why don’t you just admit it and tell the attractive bedhead to take you!’ He certainly had a way with words, if anything, Yamaguchi could express his feelings, and knew how to read Tsukishima like a book. He remembered him mentioning that he had a class with Bokuto and that he talked to him before, but what exactly was it that those two were talking about?

Whatever the reason behind it was, Tsukishima was here on the front door to Bokuto’s place. It looked so different without all the bright lights, loud music, and drunken half-naked people laid out on the front lawn. The windows all around the place made it just as easy to see inside as it did back then, Bokuto had to be a trusting man to let random people just passing by see into his house like this, even if this was just built by his parents.

Tsukishima raised his hand up to the perfectly white front door, if this was any whiter, it would have blinded you. He tried not to look for any people when his eyes gazed through the windows, all he could really make out were the kitchens and living rooms on the first floor, but his eyes managed to not make contact with anything resembling the ‘bedhead’.   
“Tsukki!” Bokuto bounced with excitement before Tsukishima even got one knock in. He was standing in the door proudly, wearing a white and black tank top and blue jeans that looked too tight for his body, his hair still just as pointed as it always was.

“How did you even know I was here?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, trying to be serious but still not come off as mean.

“From the windows.” He pointed upwards, Tsukishima assumed to the windows on the second floor. “We saw you walking down the sidewalk. Come, everyone’s waiting.” 

Bokuto sprung as he grabbed ahold of Tsukishima’s wrist, pulling him and dragging him up the stairs, not even giving Tsukishima time to register the now perfectly clean rooms around him. The only areas he even remembered from that night were the messy kitchen on the second floor and Kuroo’s bedroom.

“Kuroo!” Bokuto continued to yell as they made their way to the kitchen on the second floor. You add a handful of beers, some people passed out on the floor, and that awful smell, and it looked exactly like Tsukishima remembered it, even with Kuroo standing in the same place he had been, looking as smug as ever. “Your boyfriends here.” Bokuto yanked on Tsukishima’s arm, practically thrusting him in Kuroo’s direction. Tsukishima almost lost his balance as he felt those strong, familiar arms embrace him, saving him from the almost fall.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed, from Tsukishima’s now slouching position, Kuroo was actually taller than him, though only for a moment as Tsukishima shook his arms off of him and stood up straight once again.

Kuroo wore an all black dress shirt with bright red buttons, various wrinkles could be visible from the material, and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His pants mimicked Bokuto’s, blue jeans that were way too tight, making every detail on every curved muscle of Kuroo’s body perfectly noticeable. 

Kuroo watched closely, smirking as he placed a hand on his hip while Tsukishima pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose once again. He needed to remind himself why he was here, he wasn’t here just because he lost a bet, if anything, that was just his motive, but he was really here because despite how long it seemed like they had known each other, he was still curious about Kuroo, he knew very little about him, and what better way to learn more about someone than to go on a ‘date’. Tsukishima still hated that word, the only dates he had been on were the awkward third wheel dates in high school, or whatever weird things were going on between Yamaguchi and him in high school.

“Boyfriend?” Tsukishima looked over to Bokuto, who was now hand in hand with Akaashi, both staring at whatever he was cooking over the oven. The two seemed to be whispering to each other about something, but Tsukishima couldn’t quite make out what it was.

“Tsukki, don’t be shy.” Kuroo interrupted his train of thought. “Come here and give me a hug and a kiss.”

“I already gave you a kiss.” Tsukishima brought out his signature scowl, Kuroo had his arms held open, like he was expecting for Tsukishima to embrace him.

“I know, but we’re on a date now, so we should have another one.”

“I’m not kissing you… yet.” Tsukishima instantly regretting those words, they just slipped out, just barely loud enough where he knew Kuroo could still hear him. He knew there would be no doubt in his mind that he would kiss Kuroo again, but he didn’t like him knowing that. It made Tsukishima seem that much more vulnerable, and willing to play right into the bedheads hands.

As soon as he heard himself say those words, he knew he would get a half surprised reaction out of Kuroo, he would never expect someone like Tsukishima to be so bold, but Tsukishima needed to remind him that Kuroo didn’t quite have him all figured out.

“Anyway, what are we doing on our ‘date’?” Tsukishima forced himself to muster out as he turned his head and looked down at the perfectly placed tiles on the floor. They were just ordinary gray and off-white kitchen tiles, you would see them in most houses on the home decorating channels, but right now, those tiles were what separated Tsukishima from giving into Kuroo.

“Well I’m glad you asked.” Kuroo smirked, turning his head over to Bokuto and Akaashi, who were still over by the oven, Bokuto with his arms wrapped tightly around Akaashi’s waist, and a slight smile could be seen on Akaashi’s lips. “I hope you like ramen.” 

“Is that what they’re making?” Tsukishima asked almost as if it were a joke. Bokuto’s family paid for this nice apartment for them and Kuroo to stay in, Bokuto bought friends Rolex’s and other expensive things for their birthday, and yet they were going to be eating one of the most affordable things to eat on a college students budget? Not that Tsukishima was complaining, he actually enjoyed ramen, him and Yamaguchi would take turns making it whenever one of them wanted a late-night snack, but it was still surprising. 

“You bet cha’!” Bokuto smiled as he turned his head to face Kuroo and Tsukishima briefly, before pressing his face again against Akaashi’s back.

“Also I hope you like scary movies.” Kuroo gestured towards the room behind him with his thumb. Without the bright lights blinking all he really recognized was the couch, the couch so many people were sucking face on only a week ago. 

“I don’t hate them, but don’t expect me to get scared and crawl into your arms.” 

“I know you well enough to know that I wouldn’t expect that, Tsukki, but maybe you’ll let me crawl into your arms.” He winked for the first time today, it had only been a few days since the practice match he watched, but he still had the image of Kuroo winking imprinted into his mind. It felt oddly satisfying to see it again in person.

“No, I’m not falling for your antics today, you just want to try to seduce me so I’ll sleep with you again.” Tsukishima’s only real options for dealing with Kuroo were to play somewhat sarcastic and hard to get, or to just give in and give the man what he wants. No matter how much he tried to deny it, it was clear who was in charge of this relationship.

“Tsukki, I would never!” There was that fake voice he used whenever he pretending to be heart, usually to just get his way. “Do you really only think that I think of you as just a pretty face who’s great in bed?”

It was a bit of an odd question, Tsukishima knew Kuroo mentioned before that he liked him and wanted to get to know him better, but somehow with him the topic of sex and seduction almost always seemed to be at play. He had already mentioned a few times that he still wanted to go for a ‘round two’.

“My face isn’t pretty.” Tsukishima couldn’t even begin to fathom a response, it was clear that no matter what he said, Kuroo would just use it to provoke him some more.

“I think it’s gorgeous.” Kuroo cooed again, this time placing a hand on the side of Tsukishima’s face, forcing him to stop looking at the floor and bring his eyes up to the bedhead, who still had that same messy hair. 

“Well, maybe you should get your eyes checked. Do you need my glasses?” Tsukishima was almost proud of himself with how quickly he was able to retort with that, even managing to get a slight chuckle out of both Bokuto and Akaashi with that one.

Surprised again, Kuroo had a puzzled expression on his face, only for a brief moment before turning it into a smirk, Tsukishima assumed to was realizing a way he could spin this into a way to provoke him, so this is what it was like to see the ‘king’ at his work. Kuroo was the self-proclaimed king of provoking people after all.

“Actually yes, Tsukki, give me your glasses.” Kuroo reached forward, grabbing the tip right above the nose of the frames before Tsukishima swat his hand away.

It was evident in Tsukishima’s mind that Kuroo was just trying to provoke him, get him to act how he wanted, unless Kuroo was being completely upfront with him, it was still hard to see what the man’s intentions were. As far as Tsukishima was concerned, Kuroo was just a boy with a pretty face and attractively messy hair who knew how to get what he wanted. 

And Tsukishima was barely able to admit that he liked him, he was still coming to terms with admitting that to himself and to Kuroo.

“I already told you that night, I don’t want a friends with benefits relationship.” Tsukishima’s words sounded just as bland as he intended them to be, maybe he was just being stubborn and terrible at reading Kuroo, but he couldn’t just shake the thought of Kuroo just being interested in sex out of his mind. It might have been just from the animal-like instincts that Kuro showed that night more than anything else.

“What brought this on, Tsukki? I don’t want that either.” As if he was in some terrible romance movie, Kuroo moved his hand off of Tsukishima’s face and held his hands in his, they were just as warm as he remembered, every time Kuroo touched him he could feel his heart start to race.

It was like someone just slapped him across the face, well metaphorically, it looks like Kuroo was capable of surprises that didn’t include flirting with people. Tsukishima wasn’t quite sure why he said that, as if it was a way to remind Kuroo that he wasn’t just showing up for ‘round two’. Maybe it was just from the realization of being on a ‘date’ with Kuroo, and having the possibility to get to know him better that put him so much more on edge.

“Then what do you want?” Maybe Tsukishima was just really dense when it came to relationships, or he really wanted Kuroo to spell out everything for him, but he still wasn’t quite sure of the mans intensions. Then again, it does make you sound pretty conceited when you just assume someone likes you and wants a relationship. 

“I’d like to get to know you better, Tsukki, and you know…” Kuroo started rambling, like the right words just wouldn’t come off of his tongue. Tsukishima made a note in his mind of how cute he looked like this, flustered, face almost red, then again, maybe that was just the lighting.

“No, I don’t know.” Was this considered being mean? It felt almost like the shoe was on the other foot, Tsukishima was the one who was provoking and letting Kuroo play right into his hands. It was a nice change, a pleasant change.

And as if Kuroo suddenly remembered who he was talking to and what he was doing, he snapped back to that provoking attitude, a smug smirk spreading on his face as the grip he had on Tsukishima’s hands tightened. 

“Come, Tsukki, let’s just enjoy our date.” And with Tsukishima in tow, the two of them strut off into the living room.

 

Tsukishima had to give Kuroo credit where credit was due, the guy wasn’t ‘that’ bad at romance. Sure, the movies he picked out were terrible. They were those cheesy, cliché ones about a group of college kids going on a camping trip, then their car breaks down and they have to survive the night in the forest, only for each of them to slowly die thanks to some mass murderer who escaped from some asylum. And to top it all off, the two surviving students fall in love with each other in the end. How boring and cliché. Tsukishima never did understand how people could like these kinds of movies, even Bokuto who seemed excited by everything looked bored while watching them. What was Kuroo thinking?

Actually, apparently Kuroo had done a lot of thinking, so much so that he already did the whole 'arm stretch in the movie theatre' cliché, and had his arm wrapped tightly around Tsukishima's shoulder. It took everything in Tsukishima's body not to lean in to the warmth of the man, ugh, even his shoulders were perfect.

“Why did you pick this movie again?” Tsukishima sighed, doing his best not to let Kuroo how much he wanted to stop watching whatever boring scene was playing on the fifty-inch flat screen in Bokuto’s living room.

“I thought you’d like it and it made me think of you.” Kuroo leaned his head over, blowing light air in Tsukishima’s ear, sending a chill up his spine as he scowled at the bedhead.

“And why exactly does this make you think of me?” If Kuroo was going to pick a movie that reminded him of Tsukishima, he figured it would be something more scientific, like a space movie, or a dinosaur movie would be nice, he was majoring in biology after all. So why this?

“Because the main character is just a bitter and stubborn as you.” He couldn’t tell if Kuroo was trying to spin this into a joke, the smirk on his face said yes, but his tone was trying way too hard to be serious.

“And how am I stubborn?” Tsukishima was well aware of how bitter he could come off as. He was pretty sure most people who didn’t know him thought he was some pretentious, smartass bitch who only cared about schoolwork. But if, anything Kuroo was the real stubborn one between them, the man was practically a poster boy for being persistent. 

“We’ve been watching this movie for over ninty minutes now, and you still haven’t let me kiss you.”

Tsukishime scowled again, pinching the brige of his nose as he forced himself to look Kuroo in the eyes. Big mistake. The bedhead was already smirking at him, completely ignoring Bokuto and Akaashi, who were sitting on the other end of the couch, it looked like Bokuto was trying not to fall asleep from boredom as Akaashi rubbed his back.

“I didn’t exactly know that you wanted to kiss me.” That was a lie, you didn’t have to be a genius to see the desire in Kuroo’s eyes, that same look of a cat stalking its prey. 

“Okay then, let me kiss you now.” Kuroo moved forward, getting ready to pounce on his prey, placing his other arm on Tsukishima’s face, as if he was holding him still.

Tsukishima jumped back, as if it was a forced reaction. It’s not that he didn’t want to kiss Kuroo, if anything he could hear that voice inside of his head telling him to kiss him, but should he just give in so easily? He liked Kuroo, but was that enough.

“Tsukki, come on, don’t be shy, I won’t bite… hard.” Tsukishima already had plenty of experiences with Kuroo’s bites, and he wouldn’t mind having some more, but he just couldn’t bring himself to. 

“I won’t let you have your way so easily.” It seemed like the only solution to whatever situation they were in was to play hard to get. It wasn’t exactly a position Tsukishima was familiar with, or really cared for, but it would have to do.

“I accept your challenge.” As if it was the answer he wanted, Kuroo smirked, getting up off the leather couch and dragging Tsukishima into the kitchen. He was sure Bokuto and Akaashi wouldn’t miss them, he was half expecting them to turn off the terrible movie in their absence. 

Inside the kitchen, which still smelt like ramen, they were met with the eyes of a much shorter boy, with dyed blonde hair and dark roots showing through, he had a tired look about him, with noticeable bags under his eyes, wearing a black baggy, wrinkled tank top and a loose bright red jacket over top of that. Tsukishima had never seen this guy before. Now that he remembered, Kuroo did say he had a roommate besides Bokuto and Akaashi, this was probably the guy, that or Bokuto just let random moochers stay at his place, he did seem like the kind of trusting guy that would do that.

“Oh.” The boy spoke softly, his words sounded bored and lax, way more than Akaashi’s were. Tsukishima has always been accused of sounding bored, but this guy really took the cake.

“Oh, what’s this? Did the infamous Kenma, who can’t be pried away from his video games finally come out of his room?” Kuroo teased him.

The boy, whose name was apparently ‘Kenma’ turned his head slightly, like he was analyzing Kuroo, and then drifted his eyes over to Tsukishima. He could feel people analyze him before, but this felt different, like Kenma actually was good at analyzing people.

“I’m only here because I wanted some food.” Kenma looked down before bringing his eyes back up to Tsukishima. “Is this the ‘glasses boy with the bad attitude’, the one who you call-“ Before he could finish that sentence, Kenma was abruptly cut off by Kuroo almost leaping across the room to put his hand over top of the smaller boys mouth, causing all three of them to look at each other surprised. 

“Tsukki, just ignore him.” Kuroo had an embarrassed expression on his face. This was definitely a day to see a new side to Kuroo. “This is Kenma, he’s my roommate, you might have remembered his video games on the wall the last time you were in our room. He’s a bit of an introvert who doesn’t leave his room very often, so he shouldn’t bother you.” Kuroo was almost talking about Kenma as if he were a dog or a cat. From what Tsukishima saw, Kenma was someone he would probably get along with, like Akaashi, he was quiet, didn’t speak unless he was spoken to, and looked like he kept to himself.

“I’m not a dog, you know?” Kenma slapped Kuroo’s hands away as he looked back down at the floor.

“No, I’d say you are more of a kitten.” Kuroo smirked at the shorter boy, getting no reaction out of him. Tsukishima wasn’t sure how long they knew each other, but you could definitely see some kind of history and chemistry between the two of them.

“Whatever, just go and play with your boyfriend.” Kenma grabbed a bowl of ramen off the counter and walked away, leaving Tsukishima with nothing but a lot of questions.

“What did you call me?” Tsukishima was forced to bring his attention immediately to Kuroo. It was no surprise that Kuroo talked about him, even less of a surprise that he would him a nickname other than ‘Tsukki’, but what exactly was Kenma going to say if he finished that sentence?

“Oh nothing, Tsukki, you’re still my favorite kitten.” As if he was trying to distract him, Kuroo placed his hand on the edge of Tsukishima’s chin, running his thumb over the edges of it.

“Don’t try to sway the conversation.” Tsukishima swat his hand off his chin. “And I’m not your boyfriend.”

“Not yet.”

“Don’t say things like that, I don’t even know you that well.” That was one of the main reasons he came here, to get to know Kuroo better, but yet he still knew nothing about the guy, other than he had terrible tastes in movies.

“Well then, ask away, Tsukki. I will be like an open book to you.” Kuroo held his arms opened wide, almost like he was getting to embrace someone for a hug.

Tsukishima quickly ran through the possibilities in his head, if you were given the option to ask anyone anything, and they would be honest about it, what would you ask?

Suddenly, Tsukishima just started to rattle off every other question that came into his head, with Kuroo answering them effortlessly, like he was expecting it.

“Favorite animal?”

“Cats.”

“Birthday?”

“November 17th.”

“Favorite food?”

“I really like grilled salted mackerel pike.”

“Do you really like me?” Another thing that he didn’t mean to say, it just came out as he continued talking, his mind was thinking of probably a dozen questions or more, it wasn’t that much of a surprise that whatever popped into his head he would just blurt out. What really surprised him was the answer.

“Of course I do, Tsukki, why would you ask something like that?”

He didn’t really have an answer, for Tsukishima it was more so surprising that someone like Kuroo, someone who seemed to be well liked by everyone, was interested in him. You could call it a lack of self-confidence or whatever, but for Tsukishima, he knew in the back of his mind that he liked Kuroo, he was almost certain he was going to admit it very soon, but he just couldn’t wrap his head around it, around any of this.

The whole friends with benefits thing was already off the table, so he knew he didn’t want to just sleep with him, but if Kuroo really did just want a normal relationship, why was Tsukishima having such a hard time understanding that? Maybe it was just one of those ‘too good to be true’ moments.

In that moment he thought about leaving, but he knew the moment he walked through the door that Yamaguchi would be eagerly awaiting him in their dorm, and if he found out he left in just a little under three hours, he would practically march Tsukishima back here and demand Kuroo make out with him. Above all else, Yamaguchi was a good friend, he knew what his friends wanted, and he knew that Tsukishima wanted Kuroo, he was just in that stage of denial right now. That stage of ‘it’s too good to be true’. After all, Kuroo was so good to be true that he practically had to be some girls (ad guys) dream guy, so why Tsukishima?

“No reason, you just seem like the kind of guy that would be more into a friends with benefits deal.” When it came to Kuroo, he definitely gave off the whole ‘master of provocation’ vibe, the kind of guy that nobody wants to leave alone, everyone seemed curious about him. But at the same time, he still seems very different than that.

As if he was trying to be serious, Kuroo simply sighed. “Well, I think you have a lot to learn about me, Tsukki, as I do you. That’s why this is a date after all.”

“Then if it’s a date, shouldn’t you ask me something?” It was like that one single line changed the entire mood of the room, it was almost like you feel the mood grow from somber to lively again, Tsukishima was being sarcastic and Kuroo was giving that usual Cheshire grin, everything almost felt at peace once again – almost.

Tsukishima was expecting some sort of retort, maybe even a reverb of the questions he asked Kuroo. Tsukishima figured he probably knew some things thanks to the information Yamaguchi offered up, but in the long run, he figured Kuroo was no better off than he was.

“Okay, Tsukki.” Kuroo smirked, keeping his hands firmly on Tsukishima’s, out of the corner of his eyes he could see Bokuto crawl into Akaashi’s lap over on the couch in the other room. “Do you like me?”

“Huh?” As if the question came completely out of left field, Tsukishima stood there puzzled, watching as Kuroo’s eyes looked into his, even when his face was expressionless, his eyes were still provoking. 

Regardless of how strange the question seemed, the answer Tsukishima would give him would be another story. Ever since Tsukishima had met Kuroo, his entire process of reasoning and logic were always in question. Sure, the man was gorgeous, and Tsukishima definitely felt attracted to him, hell, he even had Yamaguchi telling him every other day about how he knew he liked him. And it’s not like Tsukishima had any problem with liking or dating men, he was used to one-night stands before, and Yamaguchi and him had slept together multiple times in high school. But the only difference was that Kuroo was just a best friend, he wasn’t a one-night stand, he was more than that, he was there to stay, something Tsukishima had never had happen before. He wasn’t abandoned or anything, but outside of Yamaguchi, he was used to being alone. Most people don’t approach him because of his very reserved, somewhat rude personality. Even Kuroo attempting to hit on him at all that night at the waffle house deserved some kind of award.

There was really no use in denying it by this point, even if he did lie and tell Kuroo ‘no’, he could already picture the bedhead doing something provoking with an ‘oh really?’ smirk spread on his face.

To hell with his pride, this may have been something that was slightly out of character for Tsukishima, but if he already had Kuroo here with him, what would denying it now really get him?

Tsukishima gulped, biting his lips as his eyes instantly looked down at the tile floor of the kitchen underneath them. “What if I do?”

“Tsukki!” In that moment, Kuroo sounded just as loud as Bokuto, casuing the taller blonde to look up at him. “Let’s make it official.”

“Make what official?” 

“Us of course.” As if it was the most obvious thing in the world, Kuroo stood up on his toes and planted a soft kiss on Tsukishima’s lips, it was different than the others. Every time they had kissed, Tsukishima was the one to initiate it, then with Kuroo taking control of it instantly after, this time it was all Kuroo.

Kuroo’s kisses were always passionate, he had muscles all over his body, so it was no surprise he had wonderful muscles in his lips too. Tsukishima was pretty sure he just licked his lips before kissing him, they were more moist than normal. He could feel Kuroo’s hands move from holding his hands to now being wrapped around Tsukishima’s back, pressing his body onto his. Tsukishima tried not to think about it, thinking about these sorts of things only makes them more awkward.

Kuroo’s lips were as sweet as ever, and he couldn’t resist the erge to run his hands over top of the shorter bedheads chest, running up his face and entangling in his hair. He didn’t want this kiss to end, but it seemed just as soon as Kuroo realized how much he was enjoying it, how well Tsukishima’s body was reacting to his, the way that Tsukishima almost moaned uncontrollably into Kuroo as he bit down on his lip, Tsukishima couldn’t tell, but he thought Kuroo was enjoying it. But just as soon as it happened, it was gone. Damn that bedhead, first he spends the entire day flirting with Tsukishima, then he says he wants to be ‘official’, kisses him, and then right when Tsukishima could feel that tingling sensation run through his body again, he stops. The jerk.

“So?” As if Kuroo was asking him ‘do you like it?’, Tsukishima could tell that look in his eyes, that same provoking look he was far too used to by this point, he didn’t even have to provoke him anymore.

“So what?” Tsukishima scowled, raising an eyebrow as he forced himself to let go of Kuroo, knowing very well in the back of his mind what would happen if they kept touching each other like this.

“Let’s make it official, Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed, using his natural provoking talents to get his way. He was good at it, no, he was great at it. He knew just how to whisper his voice, and bat his eyes in such a way that it made Tsukishima melt right into his hands. He was definitely a man who knew how to get his way.

“Can you please not call it that? It sounds like one of us just got verified on twitter.” Tsukishima clicked his tongue at the end, doing his best to keep his tone as serious and as bland as possible, trying not to lead in he felt the same way. Being ‘official’ with Kuroo had a nice ring to it, a ring that Tsukishima quite liked the sound of.

“Then what do you want to call it, Tsukki?” Kuroo pried, keeping that same low tone in his voice, practically blowing cold air against Tsukishima’s neck.

“I don’t know.” As if he was flustered, Tsukishima looked away, turning his head to face the floor, a lot like Kenma had done only moments ago. 

He wasn’t trying to avoid Kuroo, but what did he really want? They already established a no friends with benefits thing, Kurro admitted that he liked him, and Tsukishima did the same, so what was the next step? Have a normal relationship and do lovey-dovey things, like sitting in each other’s laps and watching movies together, Kuroo always pulling him closer for a kiss, a lot like what Bokuto and Akaashi are doing on the couch right now. Would that even work? More importantly, would the relationship even last, he still knew next to nothing about him, some things you can learn about someone from just observation, and over time, but can you really have a relationship from knowing so little about someone? Tsukishima guessed it was too late to be asking a question like that. He already the answer, and knew what he wanted.

“Let’s call it what is it.” Kuroo continued to speak softly, raising his hands up to touch Tsukishima’s face. “A date.”

As if Kuroo gave Tsukishima the truthful answer that he wanted to hear, Tsukishima brought himself forward again, planting his lips on the shorter man, letting his fingers entangling in the messy bedhead’s hair one more time.

“Tsukki!” Kuroo smirked, a look of pleasure in his eyes. “If you want to, we could, you know.” He winked, and Tsukishima could feel that slight bulge in his pants tightening. 

“Isn’t Kenma in your room?” Tsukishima wasn’t sure if he mentioned it before, a lot of times when Kuroo talks his mind starts to wander, looking at his attractive messy hair, and gorgeous looks, but he thought he mentioned he never brings people to his room to sleep with him when Kenma was around. Maybe it was just the general vibe that he gave off, but Kenma seemed like the kind of person who was always quiet, but if you annoyed him, he would find ways to let you know that he was mad at you.

“Tsukki, there’s more than one free room in this house.” He winked, gesturing over to Bokuto and Kuroo, it was almost like he was getting their approval to use another room. Bokuto gave a slight thumb’s up as his hands ran over Akaashi’s chest. “And plus, what kind of date would it be if we didn’t go for round two? We are boyfriends now, or whatever we are.”  
He was feeling that slight impulsive take over in his mind again, that side that just blurts out anything and everything around Kuroo. He didn’t even try to hide it anymore. What was so bad about being impulsive?

“Boyfriends.” It was like he was correcting him, letting him know he was okay with being in a relationship with Kuroo, titles really didn’t mean anything in a situation like this, but calling Kuroo his boyfriend seemed to resonate really well with Tsukishima. 

Kuroo turned his head back, smiling at him, that predatory smile he was use to, it seemed with Kuroo he was either being provoking or like a cat stalking his prey, not that Tsukishima minded either way. He let Kuroo lead him by the wrist into the nearest empty room, tugging at him, and wasting no time to press his lips against the taller blondes once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the date finally happens, yay! And then Kenma makes his grand appearance (and then leaves). Also I had a heart attack while writing this chapter because I thought my computer broke, haha.


	9. Official

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Disappointed?” Kuroo almost chuckled, his tone returned back to that same provoking one. “Expecting something more?”
> 
> “No, I just figured a guy like you would be a bit more complicated.” Tsukishima almost felt himself egging him on, maybe he did learn a thing or two from Kuroo about provoking people.
> 
> “Oh Tsukki, I think you’ll find I can be plenty complicated.” Kuroo loosed his grip slightly, going back to drawing light circles through Tsukishima’s shirt, it was almost comforting and easing to the taller blonde. “Now I answered your question, Tsukki, so it’s my turn. Join the volleyball club for me?”
> 
> Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “You’re terrible. Here I am asking you about your family, and you’re here just trying to get me to join your club. You should really set your priorities straight.”
> 
> “I think my priorities are pretty good. I just think sometimes it’s better to gradually learn about someone, instead of having everything all up front and out in the open from the beginning.”

“You should stay over tonight again.” Kuroo cooed quietly in Tsukishima’s ear as he drew light circles on his bare back, he could almost hear him smirking as he eyed over the exposed skin.

“And why should I do that?” Tsukishima turned his head, eyeing Kuroo through his slightly blurry vision, his glasses still laying on the table a few feet away from the two of them. 

It had been two weeks, two weeks exactly since that night, the night of their date. As far as Tsukishima was concerned, Kuroo and him were and item, a thing, a whatever you wanted to call it, boyfriends, dating, official. They had pretty much done the whole romantic couple thing, spending every free second together, Tsukishima was over at his and Bokuto’s place more than his own dorm room, not that he was complaining. Akaashi was a sufficient cook, and Bokuto was always welcoming, and even Kenma got used to him to the point where the two of them would strike up a casual conversation from time to time, usually just about Kuroo, and his unfathomable messy hair. 

Today was one of their usually weekend dates, Friday night at five in the afternoon, or evening. The two of them had their last class that day together, ended with eating a quick burger in the dining hall, and then coming back to Bokuto’s place to do some ‘homework’. Tsukishima would always make himself at home, plopping down on Kuroo’s bed, Kenma was always away with his Friday night gaming group, so Kuroo’s room was free. It would always start out with Tsukishima looking through his text book, getting an early start on next week’s chapter assignments, and it usually quickly ended with Kuroo’s natural provoking nature lightly sliding a hand underneath Tsukishima’s shirt, lightly letting his nails trace all the way up Tsukishima’s back until he reached his shoulders, in an attempt to coax him into doing Kuroo’s idea of ‘homework’. Tsukishima was all too quick to give in to what would be another eventful night with Kuroo in-between the sheets. Sex with Kuroo was always the best, he was a perfect combination of passionate, wild, and just the right amount of loving. How did Tsukishima get so lucky again?

It had only been two weeks and Tsukishima still had so much to learn about Kuroo, and vice versa. He still had no idea why Kuroo liked him so much, every time he would ask him about it, he would just give a vague shrug and a ‘I think you’re cute and interesting’, Tsukishima guessed you can’t really help who you’re attracted to.

“Because it’s late.” Kuroo rolled over, the two of them still completely naked, with the sheets covering up the lower part of their bodies from tonight’s events. 

“You know, if you want me to stay, just tell me.” Tsukishima hates people who couldn’t be up front about what they wanted. The way Kuroo would always play some kind of mind game with him, to get him to offer up what he wanted, pissed him off the most. He knew he wouldn’t exactly do anything if Kuroo asked him to, well, maybe he would, but being blunt was never a bad thing in Tsukishima’s eyes.

“Would you stay then?” Kuroo had that predatory glint in his eyes, the one that made Tsukishima want to fiercely make out with him, but also smack him. 

“No.” Tsukishima smirked, as if he was trying to make a joke, though, he wasn’t entirely sure he was joking. He wasn’t really one to stay over at Kuroo’s place. Mainly because he knew if he waited until the morning after to come back to his dorm, the teasing and questions he would get from Yamaguchi would be relentless, not to mention, he was technically paying for a dorm, so he might as well live in it. “Make yourself useful and hand me my glasses.” 

Tsukishima closed his eyes and held out his hand, since Kuroo was sleeping on the side closest to the desk. He could hear the sounds of the sheets moving as Kuroo rolled over, grabbing the frames off of the desk and sliding them into Tsukishima’s hands. Everything looked so much better once he put them on again, the small details on Kuroo’s face became visible again, everything down to his defined jawline and messy hair were now perfectly in view.

“Anyway.” Tsukishima sighed, getting up off the bed and gathering his clothes off of the mess on the floor. It was starting to get more and more difficult to tell what was his and what was Kuroo’s, everything just sort of meshed together like a giant blob of fabric. “I should get going, but I’ll probably stop by tomorrow for lunch.” Is this what it felt like to be comfortable with someone? Tsukisima wasn’t sure, but he almost always now offered up his schedule to Kuroo, telling him when he was free and willingly finding himself going over to see Kuroo whenever he had the time. 

Kuroo and Tsukishima were well passed the stage of knowing the two like each other, but this was still new to Tsukishima. Up until now, the only one that he would willingly do anything with was Yamaguchi, and most of that was probably because Yamaguchi dragged him everywhere, with someone like that, you’re pretty much forced to get comfortable. 

But Kuroo was different, unlike Yamaguchi, Tsukishima wouldn’t mind having Kuroo drag him around for the rest of his life. Wait, the rest of his life?

“You know, Tsukki. I’ve been meaning to ask you.” Kuroo began, pulling himself off the bed, in all of his naked glory, as he joined Tsukishima in the middle of the room, gathering his clothes out of the pile. “Why don’t you just move in us?” The tone in his voice made it hard to tell if he was being sincere or joking, Tsukishima hated that about him.

“Us?” Tsukishima questioned, not making eye contact with the bedhead, or his body, as he slipped his boxers back on, though, he already knew Kuroo was very much still looking at him. “Isn’t Kenma your roommate? And in case you forgot, us off-campus students are bound by a contract to stay in our dorms for the whole school year.”

“We have at least two extra full sized rooms here, I know Bo wouldn’t mind if you and freckles-chan just wanted to move in, hell, you two could even move into separate rooms. This place has to be bigger and more comfortable than whatever small dorm the school gives you.”

“Is this your attempt to try to convince me to move here so you can see me more?”

“Is it working?” Kuroo smirked, bringing his face just inches away from Tsukishima’s. Tsukishima always did spend a lot of time admiring Kuroo’s hair and bangs, even more so right now, there was something about Kuroo’s bangs that made his lips look that much more kissable. 

“You’ll have to try harder than that, bedhead.” Tsukishima placed his hands on Kuroo’s bare chest, lightly pushing him away from him, giving him space to pull his shirt over top of his head. Tsukishima knew he was no match for Kuroo when it came to strength, but over the course the last two weeks, Tsukishima learned of ways to deal with Kuroo, ways to almost provoke him and push his buttons, it was kind of cute. Especially that little slight look of disappointment and curiosity in his eyes whenever Tsukishima would say something that he didn’t expect. 

Tsukishima made it a new goal of his to learn something new about Kuroo every day, whether that be a food he doesn’t like, what his favorite jacket to wear is, or maybe even a childhood story. Both Tsukishima and Kuroo were alike in the sense that neither of them liked offering up information about themselves, but whenever Kuroo would talk, Tsukishima would listen. He wasn’t guarded necessarily, and Tsukishima didn’t peg him for the kind of guy with a tragic, sad past, he just seemed like the kind of guy that was shrouded in mystery. A lot like Oikawa, everyone wanted to be around Kuroo, to be in his inner circle of friends, everyone wanted to know something about him, but he information he would give was few and far between. He was a lot like Tsukishima in that sense, the only one that really knew Tsukishima was Yamaguchi, and up until recently, up until he met Kuroo, he wanted to keep it that way. 

Somewhere along the way, Tsukishima not only got comfortably use to Kuroo calling him ‘Tsukki’, a nickname that he only used to let Yamaguchi call him, but he decided to call Kuroo ‘bedhead’, a name he gave him the day he met him at the waffle house. The first time he said it, it just sort of slipped out, but saying it always put a slight smirk on Kuroo’s face and ended with Tsukishima getting a kiss from the attractive man, so he interpreted that as he didn’t mind. 

“Oh really?” Kuroo smirked, leaning back into Tsukishima once again. “And what do I have to do to get you to stay?” Kuroo was a flirt, a big flirt, one of those guys that’s really charismatic, the kind of guy that can get whatever he wants by flirting with girls and guys, Tsukishima knew this all too well, but still he found himself enjoying the way Kuroo would look at him, blink his eyes in an attempt to pouting, and Tsukishima enjoyed even more falling right into his hands.

“I don’t have anything in mind in particular.” Tsukishima shrugged, turning around to face the wall. The doorway that led to the bathroom seemed like a nice escape right about now. Not an escape from Kuroo, but an escape from his thoughts, and his thoughts of Kuroo.

“Don’t be like that, Tsukki, after all we’ve been through so far, you could at least be a little more direct with me.” Tsukishima could feel Kuroo’s strong, still sweaty arms wrap around him from behind, his chin resting on his shoulder, in the usual comfortable position, as one arm stayed on his upper chest, and the other near his stomach, his fingers drawing light circles through the thin t-shirt, continuing to move downwards. “You still haven’t even answered my offer about joining the volleyball team.”

Tsukishima thought about responding to him with a ‘what do you know about being direct?’ retort, but was immediately distracted by the slight change of subject. Out of all the things Kuroo was, direct wasn’t one of them, he pretty much lived off of scheming and provoking people. The only time Tsukishima had even seen him be direct was the night of their date, when Tsukishima asked him if he really liked him, other than that, Kuroo was always mysterious, but the same could be said for Tsukishima. 

“I told you I’d think about it.” That was Tsukishima’s go-to line for evading everything, it didn’t matter who it was, his parents, brother, Yamaguchi, strangers, even Kuroo. 

Ever since that day when Tsukishima was roped into helping Bokuto, Akaashi, and Kuroo after a volleyball practice, both Kuroo and Bokuto have been hammering him to join the team ever since. They always tried to use the excuse that they were short on players, and anyone who was decent would do, not to mention, Tsukishima’s natural height was an advantage for them. But Tsukishima still couldn’t see the point in joining, they were good, but he wasn’t really into joining anything seriously right now, well, except for Kuroo, he was already seriously involved with this man.

“You say that for everything.” Kuroo cooed in his ear, using his natural charm to his advantage. 

By now, Kuroo was getting pretty good at reading Tsukishima’s body language, how sarcastic and cold he was, he learned how to deal with it, and he learned exactly what to say to Tsukishima to get his way. A few touches under Tsukishima’s shirt would get him to instantly make out with him, a few light kisses on the cheek would get him to touch him, and a few soft breathy whispers in the ear would get him to fall right into his hands, agreeing to anything. It was quite evil.

“I don’t say it for everything.” Tsukishima almost argued back at the bedhead, but then decided to lower his tone. “Now let me go, I can’t get dressed.” 

“Not until you agreed to it.” Kuroo teased, being persistent as always, but he refused to lessen his grip on Tsukishima. “I’m going to keep holding you like this until you agree.” And Kuroo wasn’t above blackmail.

“And how is that a bad thing for me, exactly?” Tsukishima smirked, if Kuroo was going to hold him for a few hours like this, he wasn’t going to stop him. Tsukishima was used to feeling pretty cold, so having Kuroo warm him up wasn’t a bad idea.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo kissed the side of his cheek, making Tsukishima get that hot, flushed feeling all throughout his body.

Normally, most people would probably have melted under this situation, giving in to Kuroo’s touch, it was a feeling that Tsukishima was far too familiar with, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t melt underneath Kuroo’s touch time and time again, but this time was different. Just as Kuroo got good at dealing with Tsukishima, Tsukishima got good at dealing with Kuroo. Tsukishima decided to take advantage of this opportunity, maybe he had just learned a thing or two from the bedhead, but he could be just as provoking as he wanted to be.

“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you.” Tsukishima sighed, turning his head slightly to look at the shorter man, who looked even shorter thanks to him slouching as he held Tsukishima. “But what do your parents do, exactly?” It was a drastic change in subject, but learning more about Kuroo never ceased to escape Tsukishima’s mind. He knew Kuroo mentioned before that one of his nicer designer jackets came from his father, but that was about the extent of him talking about his family. 

Tsukishima couldn’t completely see Kuroo’s face, but he could still make out a slight shocked expression, which quickly faded into a look that seemed much more relaxed. 

Tsukishima could feel those arms wrapped around him tightening, light fingers now pressing into his skin, not hard enough to leave any kind of painful marks, but hard enough to be noticed.

“My dad’s a photographer for a sports magazine, so he travels around a lot, when I was younger he worked exclusively for one magazine, but now he works for a number of them, and my mom was a former volleyball player, she had to travel around a lot with her team, but she is, or was a stay-at-home mom, until I decided to move here with Bo.” So the mystery was finally solved, the mystery being knowing what Kuroo’s parents do. With both Bokuto and Kuroo’s parents occupations now out in the open, it was starting to feel like a requirement that you had to come from a certain lifestyle to be apart of their inner circle.

Fortunately, this wasn’t nearly as tragic as Tsukishima imagined, he was afraid Kuroo was one of those guys with an incredibly sad backstory. Tsukishima knew there was more to him than that, but right now he just seemed like a rich kid who didn’t have the opportunity to make a lot of friends because he had to move around a lot, Tsukishima found himself eager to learn more, but decided one question was enough for today, sometimes it’s better to take things slow.

“Disappointed?” Kuroo almost chuckled, his tone returned back to that same provoking one. “Expecting something more?”

“No, I just figured a guy like you would be a bit more complicated.” Tsukishima almost felt himself egging him on, maybe he did learn a thing or two from Kuroo about provoking people.

“Oh Tsukki, I think you’ll find I can be plenty complicated.” Kuroo loosed his grip slightly, going back to drawing light circles through Tsukishima’s shirt, it was almost comforting and easing to the taller blonde. “Now I answered your question, Tsukki, so it’s my turn. Join the volleyball club for me?”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “You’re terrible. Here I am asking you about your family, and you’re here just trying to get me to join your club. You should really set your priorities straight.”

“I think my priorities are pretty good. I just think sometimes it’s better to gradually learn about someone, instead of having everything all up front and out in the open from the beginning.” Well, they were on the same page when it came to things like that. It pissed Tsukishima off how much they were actually alike at times. Their personalities were the completely opposite, but everything else about Kuroo felt similar to Tsukishima. 

“Can you please stop getting philosophical lines from a video game?” Tsukishima’s only option to retort against Kuroo when he was reminded of how similar they really were, was to use his usual angry, cold sarcasm. Though, even that was starting to become ineffective, Kuroo could see right through him.

“Tsukki, don’t be so cold like that.”

“You piss me off, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told.” Kuroo hummed lightly, and Tsukishima didn’t have to look at him to know he was smirking, that provoking smirk, but somehow, a pleased smirk, maybe he was just happy to be here with Tsukishima, he still couldn’t understand it, but if he made Kuroo happy, that was all the better.

“Fuck you.” Tsukishima sneered, slipping out of Kuroo’s grasp as he reached for his pants.

Looking at Kuroo, he planted a light kiss on Tsukishima’s lips, nothing super aggressive, but still very passionate. “Tomorrow.”

 

“You’re not going?” Yamaguchi peered his head up from the bottom bunk to look up at Tsukishima, who was staring up at the ceiling from their dorm room.

“Give me one good reason why I should.” Tsukishima all but scowled at his best friend as he looked down meeting his eyes.

“Well, I could think of one or two reasons why you should go, those reasons starting with a ‘K’ and ending with an ‘O’.” Yamaguchi teased his best friend, making Tsukishima grimace at the sound of his name. 

It had only been a few hours since he left Bokuto and Kuroo’s place, and in those few hours he somehow managed to trigger the wingman inside of Yamaguchi. Ever since he walked back through the door to their dorm, all he heard out of his best friend was question after question about Kuroo and their date. ‘Are you guys a thing now?’ “Did you kiss him?’ ‘Did you tell him that you like him?’ ‘Tsukki!’. And somehow while giving Yamaguchi as much vague information as possible, he let it slip that Kuroo was still hammering him to join the volleyball team, and of course, with Yamaguchi being Yamaguchi, he decided to join Kuroo’s side in this whole situation.

“I’m pretty sure one of the perks of being someone’s boyfriend is that you get to see them whenever you want. You’ll have to try better than that.” Tsukishima smirked, returning his head back to laying on his pillow. He didn’t mean for it come off as if he was teasing Yamaguchi, but he could already see his best friend retorting. 

“But Tsukki!” Yamaguchi almost whined like Bokuto, his voice could get kind of annoying when he made it sound like that. “He’s the captain, he offered you a position on the team, shouldn’t you take it!”

“I’m already busy enough with school and work, adding a sports team into the mix will just make things unnecessarily complicated and hectic.” Tsukishima scowled, getting a less than enthusatic reaction from Yamaguchi, by now his best friend was used to his antics.

Time is a big factor when it comes to everything in college, Tsukishima wasn’t exactly struggling when it came to getting decent grades, but ever since Kuroo and him became ‘official’, he started neglected his work, from going in every other day to now barely being able to come in on the weekends. Over the past two weeks, he had only been going in on Thursday evenings after his classes were all done. So how exactly was he suppose to make time for joining a sports team in the mix of all this? He wasn’t exactly overflowing with cash at the moment right now as it was.

“I’d join if I were you.” Yamaguchi pouted, you could hear the air escaping him as he made his sigh more than obvious, purposely trying to get a reaction out of Tsukishima. Kuroo was the king of provoking people, but Yamaguchi had his own fair share of tricks up his sleeves.

“You say you’d do a lot of things if you were me. Why don’t you join then, they said they wouldn’t mind having some new players?” Tsukishima knew better than to harp on the situation, once Yamaguchi got going, he didn’t stop, and if anything, he knew Yamaguchi was a few sentences away from leaping out of his bunk and dragging Tsukishima down to the gym. Because Yamaguchi just so happened to know that the volleyball team had practice right now.

“No way! With all the gorgeous men on that team? I wouldn’t be able to contain myself.” Tsukishima noted that Yamaguchi almost sounded embarrassed. He had such an innocent face, but he was the farthest thing from it.

Tsukishima sighed, ignoring his best friend for the moment, even though he could still tell his eyes were peering up at him over the bunk just like they were just a few moments ago. What was he supposed to say in a situation like this? Just pick up the phone and call Kuroo, telling him he would see him in a few, of course, having to deal with some of Kuroo’s flirtatious quips in the midst of it. Or was he just supposed to show up with a simple ‘I want to join the team’. He could practically already see the look of displeasure on Oikawa’s face. Then again, maybe that was a good thing. Having to deal with that guy when he just went to their practice matches was bad enough, Tsukishima couldn’t even begin to fathom having to deal with him almost every day as a teammate. 

On top of that, there was still Kuroo, his now boyfriend. Tsukishima was still getting used to that, he used to just the one-night-stand kind of guy, outside of Yamaguchi, Tsukishima really was never romatically with someone, you spend more time wanting to learn more about the person your with and kissing them, than you do actually wanting to have sex. It used to be that Kuroo had to physically touch him, flirt with him, and tease him in order to get any sort of reaction out of him, but now whenever their legs would brush up against each other while sitting in class together, Tsukishima could feel his heart start to race and his skin turn hot. He assumed Kuroo felt the same, he was the one who really initiated the relationship in the first place, but who knows with that man, he was harder to read than even Tsukishima imagined.

But, in his mind he could already imagine being on the volleyball team with Kuroo, having several repeats of that night Kuroo got him to accompany him into the gym. He was a decently smart guy, and from what Tsukishima saw from their practice, he was a smart captain, the kind of guy who wouldn’t play favorites – on the court. Off the court though, that would be an entirely different story. Well, he didn’t have to tell Yamaguchi what he was thinking, he could already tell from that look in his eyes.

“Would that exactly be a bad thing, Tsukki?” It was like Yamaguchi read his mind, instantly speaking up, knowing damn well that Tsukishima was thinking about what it would be like to be on the volleyball team with Kuroo.

“It wouldn’t be the greatest thing.” Stubborn as always, he succeeded in getting nothing but another sigh out of his friend.

“You should really stop hiding from your feelings, Tsukki, he already know you like him, the two of you are dating now, I don’t think he would be too surprised if you just showed up to practice to join the team. Why don’t you just do it?”

“Because that would please him far too much.” It was no mystery that Kuroo liked to provoke Tsukishima more than he liked to other people, it was like he made getting Tsukishima to play right into his hands, to say whatever he wanted, to get him to beg was his own personal challenge, and Tsukishima still tried to do everything in his power to not give the bedhead, his now boyfriend, the satisfaction of getting him to stoop to that level.

“But you like pleasing him, I know you do.” Yamaguchi teased, Tsukishima brought his head off the pillow for a mere moment, looking down at his roommate, just in time to see him give a coy wink to his best friend. Damn it, why did Yamaguchi have to know him so well? So well that he even knew Tsukishima would play right into the bedheads hands, almost willingly by this point. 

If Kuroo were here, he would probably describe Tsukishima as a needy kitten, someone who now craved Kuroo’s touch just to survive. Thinking about it right now made Tsukishima’s skin crawl, to think there was such a way that a guy with terrible hair could get him to desire such things. Kuroo still pissed him off.

“Anyway.” Tsukishima sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to change the subject once again, if he didn’t do something about it now, there would be no end to it. He envisioned changing it to something much more boring, school, work, anything, but his mind couldn’t help but to sway the conversation back towards the bedhead. “Kuroo asked me to move in with him. Well, not so much me as us. Apparently Bokuto has two extra rooms with two beds in each of them, and he wouldn’t mind taking up more roommates. I declined of course.”

“What? Tsukki! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Yamaguchi boasted, jumping off the bed and hitting his head against the frame. “Ow.” He quietly mumbled, placing a hand on the back of his head. “I’ll go pack my bags!” 

“Calm down.” Tsukishima finally sat up on the bed, looking over at his exceedingly excited friend, who seemed to be now bursting with energy as he shook his fists in the air. 

“No, Tsukki, you need to calm down!” Yamaguchi raised his voice before realized what he was saying and who he was talking to, he was no stranger to yelling at Tsukishima before, but he usually saved it for moments when it mattered, moments when Tsukishima was depressed or needed a pick-me-up, which was rarely. But hey, maybe the guy could use something like this right now, Yamaguchi already thought he was out of his mind right now. “Your dream guy pretty much asks you move in with him, and you turn him down for what? Pride?”

“Weren’t you the one who told me ‘what else do we have besides pride’?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at him. 

Most times, Yamaguchi’s little motivational speeches, or whatever you want to call it, were pretty much the same, sometimes Tsukishima found himself not intentionally drowning out his best friend, but out of all the times Yamaguchi had lectured him, one times that he definitely remembers is his ‘pride’ speech. They were both still in high school at the time, when they were both on the volleyball team back then, and Yamaguchi decided to give Tsukishima a little pep talk, which revolved around pride. Tsukishima always thought it was quite memorable because it was the first time his best friend ever really stood up to him, even grabbing ahold of his shirt and getting a flabbergasted reaction out of the blonde.

“Well sometimes there’s a time and a place for pride, and sometimes there’s a time and a place for giving in to the gorgeous bedhead!” You could almost feel the walls vibrating against Yamaguchi’s voice, to most people he probably came off as a shy, quiet person, until he was passionate about something, and Yamaguchi was very passionate about Tsukishima and Kuroo.

“Must you say it like that? Do you want me to just call him up and say ‘hey Kuroo, I’d like to take you u on your offer and join the volleyball team, as well as move in with you.’ You know what saying something like what would do to a guy with an ego like him?” Even hearing himself say it outload make Tsukishima cringe. How do people do this sort of romantic stuff in the movies?

“I don’t see the harm.” Yamaguchi sighed, placing himself back down on his bunk. “It took you how many weeks to even admit to him that you like him? So why don’t you just stop denying everything and do what-“

“-Please don’t say ‘do what your heart wants.’” Tsukishima wasn’t exactly in a bad mood today, he just never had the time to humor the idea of romance and the whole ‘follow your heart’ bullshit. It wasn’t like this was some shojo manga. 

Tsukishima wasn’t exactly what you would call a ‘jaded’ person, he led a pretty normal life, had parents and a brother who always supported him, the really only important thing to note was that he was always pretty reserved, and lost a lot of desire for things in high school. He only really had volleyball and he lost his passion for that somewhere along the way, but it’s not like that bothered him that much. He didn’t really do relationships, so all of this was still new to him, Kuroo was probably the first person, guy or girl, that he had feelings for, if anything, he was just struggling with how to go about all of this. Is it really okay to move in with someone you just started dating and just started getting to know? It’s not like it would just be the two of them alone, but wasn’t there some kind of rule about this? Like having to wait a full three months or something? Clearly Yamaguchi already disregarded this rule. Tsukishima was already half expecting Yamaguchi to start pushing him towards Bokuto’s house, telling him he’s never allowed to return to the dorm again.

“So we’re going, right?” As if his entire tone changed, Yamaguchi perked up again, after whatever minor slump he fell into moments ago.

Tsukishima sighed again, he was starting to feel like he was sighing too much, but at this point there was no use arguing with him, both Yamaguchi and Kuroo were both probably already unwavering about them moving in, and he couldn’t deny Bokuto’s place had more room, he would enjoy the peace and quiet, and getting to see Kuroo more often was a perk. He really hated himself for having these thoughts sometimes.

“Yes, start packing your bags, let me make a phone call.” Doing something like this felt like it was something completely out of left field for someone like Tsukishima, but lately he had been doing a lot of things that felt very unlike him, so why not add one more thing to the list? Maybe the reason he was doing it was because it was so out of character for him. Whatever the reason, it was that damn bedheads fault.

Tsukishima climbed down from the top bunk of the bedroom, watching as Yamaguchi franticly grabbed one of his suit cases from the closet and started just throwing things in it, you would have thought that someone just told him that he was going on vacation. It was amazing that he didn’t have any questions, there was no rule per say that they weren’t allowed to move out of their dorm halfway through the year, they didn’t really talk that much to Nishinoya and Asahi, so there was really nothing keeping them here. So why not? Yamaguchi clearly already had his mind made up, so there was no stopping him now.

Tsukishima pulled his phone out of the pocket of the gray sweatpants he was wearing, the little volleyball charm he got back from Kuroo dangling from it, it served more as a reminder about Kuroo than it did about the person who gave it to him back in high school. He didn’t mean to make it intentional, but sometime within the past two weeks, he took a picture with Kuroo and Bokuto (upon Bokuto’s nagging request), and it didn’t turn out half-bad, so not half-bad that Tsukishima made it his lock screen, with Kuroo on his left, his arm around Tsukishima’s shoulder, and Bokuto on his right, a huge smile and a can of beer in hand. Even Tsukishima forced a vague smile in the picture, mainly because Kuroo was whispering ‘Tsukki’ into his ear over and over again in that provoking, seductive tone he was used to.

Despite everything, Tsukishima still refused to change Kuroo’s name in his phone to anything but ‘bedhead’, it seemed to suit Kuroo perfectly, and Tsukishima couldn’t think of anything more appropriate for the man. 

Tsukishima hovered his finger over the ‘call’ icon on Kuroo’s name for a moment or two before pressing it. If Yamaguchi was right and they did have volleyball practice today, he was only half expecting the bedhead to answer. Thinking about it, it was kind of sad that Yamaguchi knew the volleyball teams schedule so well. 

“Tsukki!” Kuroo’s voice echoed from the other end of the line almost instantly, barely giving the phone enough time to ring two times before answering. “I was just thinking about you.” It was almost like he was expecting the call.

Tsukishima thought about asking him why, if he was just waiting around for Tsukishima to call, but he opted out of doing that, when talking to Kuroo, it was often better a lot of times to keep his tone as bland as possible.

“Uh huh.” Cue the bland tone. “Listen, does your offer still stand?” Tsukishima made everything sound so formal, he could hear Yamaguchi snickering over in the corner, probably trying to prevent himself from saying something like ‘you don’t have to talk so formally to your boyfriend, Tsukki’. Tsukishima quickly shot him a glare from across the room and that seemed to do the trick, the snickering stopped. 

“Offer?” Kuroo almost sounded puzzled, as if a lightbulb just went off in his head. “Oh, do you mean…?” His sentence trailed off, as if he was waiting for Tsukishima to finish his thought for him. Even on the phone, he was going to be as provoking as possible.

Tsukishima felt frazzled, well, he always felt frazzled when he talked to Kuroo, but right now it felt especially as bad, maybe it was just because he couldn’t see his stupid, smug smirk over the phone, but somehow just hearing his voice made that feeling in the pit of Tsukishima’s stomach worsen, not in the ‘something bad is going to happen’ way, but more in the ‘talking to this man made him feel weird’ sort of way. As if talking to Kuroo made his whole body tingle without the bedhead even touching him.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose like he always did whenever he felt any sort of discomfort like this, he wasn’t face to face with Kuroo, but he could almost hear a sound of pleasure from the other end of the line as he clenched the phone in his hand, trying to control himself from doing anything impulsive. 

“Does Bokuto still have those two rooms available?” Tsukishima almost felt ashamed and his tone showed it, being more low and harsh than usual.

“Tsukki!” Bokuto’s voice could be heard yelling from the other end of the line, apparently, Yamaguchi was right and they were at practice. Everything after that sounded mostly muffled, like Bokuto was fighting for the phone with Kuroo to say something, until Kuroo wrestled the phone back into his own hands. A few sounds of pouts could be heard from Bokuto, and Tsukishima thought he heard Akaashi’s voice somewhere there as well.

“He might have a room available, I could put in a good word for you if you ask nicely.” Kuroo teased, that provoking tone was evident in his voice, making Tsukishima want to smack him.

“I’m not begging you. Just tell me if it’s still available.” Tsukishima didn’t want to come off as mean, though, by this point Kuroo had figured out how to read Tsukishima’s various tones, when his tone sounded harsher, he wasn’t being mean, he just wasn’t the type to show affection very often.

Kuroo hummed, it almost sounded like he was laughing from the other end. “Unfortunately I’m at practice right now, so I sadly don’t have time to hear you flirt with me.” He didn’t have to be there to know that Kuroo was winking at him right now, but even on the phone he pissed him off, and wanted to make out with him.

“I’m not flirting.” Tsukishima made sure to keep his tone blunt.

“You sure about that? Your harsh tones always seem to get me to-“

“Hey! Are you going to let me move in with you, or not?” There was that spontaneous yelling that seemed to overtake Tsukishima again, he didn’t mean to, but he wasn’t really in the mood for one of Kuroo’s come on’s right now.

“Tsukki, I didn’t know you felt this way about me.” Kuroo’s voice remained unfazed.

“I’m your boyfriend.” Tsukishima wanted to add ‘I’m supposed to feel that way for you’, but he decided not to, the last thing Kuroo needed was a bigger head.

“Come by after practice today, I’ll help you move in.”

“That won’t be necessary, I can do it myself.”

“Tsukki!” Kuroo fake whined. 

“What?” Tsukishima refused to take his eyes off the floor that was now captivating him, he knew if he looked over at Yamaguchi, he would be smiling at him. Kuroo wasn’t on speaker phone, but his voice could still be heard by his best friend who was a few feet away.

Kuroo’s voice cooed from the other end, still managing to send a chill down Tsukishima’s spine. “I’ll see you at home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will most likely be from Kuroo's point of view, also with some back story and hopefully some plot, and maybe a little bit of porn, I haven't quite decided yet haha.


	10. Comfortable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I trust everything is going well with you two then?” Startling him, Kuroo almost jumped as he placed the glass up to his dry lips. Akaashi really wasn’t the kind to just ask questions like that.
> 
> “Of course.” Kuroo smirked, turning his head back to face Akaashi. “I got him to move in with us, I’m slowly getting him to reluctantly join the volleyball team, I got him to sleep with me last night, what could be better?” Kuroo wasn’t exactly sure what it meant to lead a happy life, but waking up with Tsukishima quietly sleeping next to him sounded like a pretty good life to him.
> 
> “Just don’t fuck it up, okay?” Akaashi’s words seemed colder than normal, getting a surprised reaction fro the bedhead, then again, he never was a morning person, so he might have just been in a mood from not having his coffee yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from Kuroo's perspective.

‘How did this happen?’ Kuroo thought to himself as he rested his elbow on the bed, his hand resting on his head, messy hair in tow as he stared at his boyfriend, Tsukishima, who was steadily breathing on his bed.

He wasn’t upset at all with what he was looking at or how things turned out for the two of them. Tsukishima had pretty much moved in with him, they lived in seperate rooms, but with Tsukishima’s former college roommate, Yamaguchi, (who Kuroo still dubbed ‘freckles-chan’) deciding to take the spare room to give Tsukishima some more privacy, they might as well have been sleeping in the same room. Kuroo even took it upon himself to give a polite ‘thank you’ to the freckled-boy, it was more than obvious that he was trying to make sure Kuroo and Tsukishima had as much alone time together as possible. And even Kenma took a liking to his new roommates, even having a pleasant conversation with the two of them from time to time. Whatever it was, it surely impressed Kuroo.

Though as impressed as he was, Kuroo was still in a slight state of shock over Tsukishima. When he first laid eyes on him that night in the waffle house, he first pegged him as a one-night-stand kind of guy, and he was right in that aspect, but the minute Tsukishima started retorting at him with his cold, harsh, almost sarcastic come backs, he knew he was already falling for the man. 

They say everyone has a different way of showing affection, for some they are just up front and open about it, those people were the easiest to read and the most boring as far as Kuroo was concerned, others were the indirect kind that would flirt with you, giving you the idea of how they felt without actually saying it, Kuroo had dealt with those people a lot, just like Tsukishima, he was no stranger to one-night-stands. Then there were the people like Tsukishima, the kind who were more than indirect when it came to their feelings, he was the kind who was completely in denial, sending out almost mean quips as if he was trying to show that was his way of showing affection, and oddly enough, those kinds of people were Kuroo’s favorite. Maybe he was just a big sadist or something, but he enjoyed the challenge, the challenge being getting someone so cold to admit something so warm. That scowl that Tsukishima had on his face almost all the time now was more than enough to get his blood boiling in the best way possible.

Amidst how good Kuroo thought their relationship was going though, Tsukishima still managed to bring up every other day how they barely knew each other, they didn’t know each others pasts, didn’t know what made them the kind of people they are today, and hardly had enough information to even write a paper about the other person. On one hand, he was right, well, he was more than right, Kuroo was very interested in Tsukishima, but when it came down to it, the two of them hardly offered up any information about themselves, most everything they learned about each other was from basic observation, probably faults based on both their personalities. Whenever they would talk about it, Tsukishima would always say he didn’t have some ‘tragic’ past, he was just reserved and hated to show his feelings, and Kuroo could believe that, but for Kuroo, it was a completely different story.

The term ‘jaded’ always came to mind when Kuroo thought of his past, but how could someone as perfect as Tsukishima in Kuroo’s eyes, someone who had little to no problems, just with a bit of a difficult personality, how could Kuroo even compare to someone like that? He couldn’t, or at least, he didn’t think he could. The more he learned about him, the more he liked him. All the people around Kuroo always called him the king of provoking people, it was a talent that he sort of learned early in life, learning that he could get people to do what he wanted, hearing himself think it now just makes him sound like a villain, but he enjoys provoking Tsukishima, the way he scowls and acts annoyed, the way he tells him Kuroo pisses him off, and the way he almost willingly falls right into Kuroo’s hands, it almost makes Kuroo too happy to be with him. Was he doing this on purpose?

He didn’t mean to be so provoking, but when he was a young kid his parents divorced, his new step-father was one of those workaholic types, he was a nice guy, but Kuroo witnessed him using the same exact provoking techniques on multiple people he would have over for parties. And you know what they say, most kids learn their bad habits from watching adults.

He wasn’t technically his father, but it was all the same to Kuroo. From a young age he just followed his mother and step-father around, their jobs kept them busy, moving from place to place and not having a lot of time to make friends, it’s not wonder the guy settled for one-night-stands more than anything. In Kuroo’s mind, the moment you start to develop some sort of emotionally attachment to someone was when you would have to leave them. Even as an adult he still had a hard time brining himself to want to get close to other people, Bokuto and Akaashi being an exception of course. But Tsukishima was the first person he wanted to get close to, jaded or not.

“You’re awake.” Kuroo smiled, shaking the thoughts from his head as his eyes focused now on his sleepy boyfriend. He thought about how Tsukishima really was so cute without his glasses, his face seemed to open up and look so much more inviting. 

“What are you doing in my room?” Tsukishima scowled, sitting up on the bed as he held his hand out, as if he was gesturing for his glasses.

Kuroo complied almost willingly, handed over the glasses from the night stand as his eyes examined the room for a moment. It had only been a little over a week since Tsukishima and Yamaguchi moved in, and Tsukishima seemed to already make his room feel like home. The room itself was pretty much a carbon copy of his and Kenma’s room, just without the video games. Tsukishima already had it scattered with various school books and papers, giving it that ‘student’ feel, but the thing that surprised him the most was the dinosaur collection. ‘Really? Dinosaur’s?’ Kuroo could still remember the conversation they had right after Tsukishima fully moved in. I guess there really are certain things you can only learn about someone after living with them.

“Remember?” Kuroo felt himself returning to his natural provoking nature, smirking as he leaned forward, the two of them still shirtless. “Bokuto bought a new keg of beer last night and insisted we all try it.” Saying Bokuto was fueling all the alcohol they had at college was an understatement, the boy really did love to drink.

Kuroo still remembered him boasting through the door yesterday, with more beer in hand, demanding everyone at least have a few rounds of shots with him. Of course, he was already passed out by his third one, leaving Akaashi being forced to drag him back to his room, he even had enough fighting spirit in him to drag Tsukishima out of his room to drink with them before it happened. He really was the best wingman ever, when he couldn’t persuade someone with words to do something, he would just carry them.

After only taking a few shots, Kuroo could feel himself start to turn tipsy and be overcome by the stench of alcohol around him, he had always been a terrible drunk, and he was well aware of that. His provoking side came out much stronger when he was drunk, though that didn’t surprise Kuroo at all, they say that a persons true self has the tendency to come out when they’re drunk, and for Kuroo it was no different. He could still remember the very distinctive smell of the newly opened keg, it always resonated with him because Bokuto had a habit of buying the cheapest beer possible. Sometimes it really wouldn’t hurt to spring for the more expensive win, you know?

But, the best part about being drunk was that your true feelings often show, and that was also true for Tsukishima, who was an equally as terrible drunk. 

Kuroo was almost too proud of himself when he was able to coax Tsukishima into drinking with him, he figured he would be able to sweet talk the blonde into one or two shots, but he didn’t expect Tsukishima to willingly down four or five of them, almost in perfect unison with the bedhead. Kuroo was impressed.

Of course, anyone with a brain could figure out what happened next, a drunken provoking Kuroo with a drunken no longer hiding his feelings Tsukishima, it didn’t take many soft, playful coos in Tsukishima’s ear to get them to quietly slip away into a private room, as Akaashi struggled himself to drag a passed out Bokuto onto a couch. And thus, they were left here. With Tsukishima having very little memories of the night before, but it wasn’t like that would be the last time, so it didn’t bother Kuroo as much as it normally would. If anything, his body was still recovering from the shock of getting to be with Tsukishima.

“Ah yeah. Something like that.” Tsukishima groaned, keeping his hand placed on his forehead as he looked down at the messy bed. Kuroo knew Tsukishima was an expert when it came to reading people, but he had learned a thing or two from his boyfriend over the past few weeks. Right now he guessed Tsukishima was trying to collect his thoughts, remember any ounce of memory he could from last night.

Kuroo, being the good boyfriend that he knew he was, placed his hand on Tsukishima’s bare back, rubbing it in a form of comfort, seemingly to get little to not reaction out of the blonde, who was still taller than him even when they were both sitting down. “I’ll go get you some water.” He whispered, not in a sexual, provoking manner, just in a friendly one. Even Kuroo had a non-scummy side to him that he would show every so often.

And with that, he got up off the bed, only bothering to put on his sweatpants and gave his boyfriend a friendly smirk, managing to get a scowl out of the blonde, which only seemed   
to make Kuroo feel like all his efforts were worth it. 

He didn’t bother to look at the clock in the room before he left, but he was pretty sure it was still pretty early, probably before noon if he had to guess. Kenma was a late sleeper, the kind of person who didn’t get out of bed before two in the afternoon on the weekends, he didn’t drink, but with how late he slept, you would think he did. 

Unlike both Bokuto and Akaashi, Kenma was a weird case for Kuroo, they weren’t quite childhood friends, but he met him the first time he moved across the country when he was young, the two really seemed to hit it off, and Kenma mentioned he was going here for college, something about them having one of the best game design programs in the country. Even though Kenma was very lax and put forth very little effort when it came to something that wasn’t video games, the two of them managed to keep in touch, so well that when Kuroo decided to wanted to transfer to someplace that wasn’t just a community college, he took Kenma’s advice and moved here. Kuroo was pretty sure that he owed him a thank you, if he hadn’t recommended coming here he wouldn’t have met Tsukishima.

Making his way down the short hallway to the kitchen that was on the second floor, he saw the feint sign of Bokuto’s arm draped over the couch, looks like he never made it into his room last night, and by the looks of it, neither did his clothes. The all black tank top he had been wearing along with a pair of boxers, that Kuroo was sure belonged to Bokuto, hung over the side of the couch as if they were some decorative pillows. From Kuroo’s experience that could only mean one thing, Akaashi was up. He normally wouldn’t let his boyfriend stay in such a lazy manner, but he always found himself letting that attitude slide when he was drunk, maybe it was also just Akaashi’s subtle laziness, but if he knew better, he was probably in the kitchen right now. You don’t actually need to be birthed with some special talent to be good at reading people, if you know someone long enough, you can predict their movements and their habbits easily. And such was the case with Bokuto and Akaashi.

“Mornin’.” Kuroo hummed happily to himself, catching a glimpse of the back of Akaashi’s head as he hovered over the stove, probably cooking breakfast. It was still too early to pinpoint exactly what he was cooking, but Kuroo noted the opened carton of eggs on the counter, so it wasn’t that hard to figure out.

“Slept well?” Akaashi asked in a friendly manner. Normally Akaashi wasn’t the type for idle morning chit-chat, but given he had done last night, or more like, who he had done last night, even Kuroo could tell he was in an exceptionally good mood.

“Yeah, just here to get water.” Kuroo’s entire mind right now had been focused on Tsukishima, and slightly Akaashi from being in the room, but he remembered it probably wasn’t a bad idea to get himself some water while he was at it.

Akaashi gave him a slight nod and went back to focusing on whatever he was doing, while Kuroo opened up one of the overhead cabinets and pulled out two clear glasses, trying to make the last minute decision if Tsukishima would prefer hot or cold water, he opted for a mixture of both and went with warm.

“I trust everything is going well with you two then?” Startling him, Kuroo almost jumped as he placed the glass up to his dry lips. Akaashi really wasn’t the kind to just ask questions like that.

“Of course.” Kuroo smirked, turning his head back to face Akaashi. “I got him to move in with us, I’m slowly getting him to reluctantly join the volleyball team, I got him to sleep with me last night, what could be better?” Kuroo wasn’t exactly sure what it meant to lead a happy life, but waking up with Tsukishima quietly sleeping next to him sounded like a pretty good life to him.

“Just don’t fuck it up, okay?” Akaashi’s words seemed colder than normal, getting a surprised reaction fro the bedhead, then again, he never was a morning person, so he might have just been in a mood from not having his coffee yet.

Kuroo being the kind of person that he was, decided to play it off with a joke. “Have I ever fucked anything up in the past?” He already knew the answer to that one, he had fucked up quite a few things in his life, from things as simple as tests, and plays in volleyball, to speeches he was giving on his parent’s behalf. His parents never scolding him for it, but to this day one of the things Kuroo hates the most is when people won’t be honest with him.

“I’m only saying this because I’m your friend and I don’t want you to get hurt, or hurt anyone.” Akaashi’s voice was bland, an unusual tone for him, normally he’s the kind of guy   
whose biggest concern is Bokuto getting too hyper. “It’s not just me, Kenma’s worried too. You’ve only known each other for a little over a month, and though you two appear to be taking things slow, just don’t do anything reckless, okay? Kenma told me about you know who when you lived on the other side of the country, and we don’t want a repeat of that.”  
“A repeat of what?” As if he had the most impeccable timing, Bokuto appeared in the room, wearing only his underwear as he threw an arm around his boyfriend, distracting both Kuroo and Akaashi.

The ‘you know who’ Akaashi was talking about was someone so unimportant in Kuroo’s life now that he didn’t need to be named, or more so, someone who Kuroo desperately tried to expel from his mind, and for the most part, he succeeded.

When he first met Kenma there was another boy in the same circle of friends, his name isn’t important, but just like he seemed to do with Tsukishima, Kuroo fell hard and fast for this guy, so hard and so fast that the relationship ended before it even felt like it started. They slept together a few times, did the whole ‘hey, let’s try dating’ thing, Kuroo thought it was going pretty well, until then one day he woke up and he was gone, no phone calls, no text messages, no notes saying where he went, he was just gone. He knew the guy was an older man, and looking back on it now, Kuroo thought about how insane the whole thing was. But, one doesn’t really come out of a situation like that ready to jump right back into dating again, so he couldn’t blame Akaashi for his concerns, but Tsukishima was different, there was no way he would leave him, and Kuroo would be damned if he was going to let some guy from his past, whose face he couldn’t even remember anymore, ruin his current relationship.

“I appreciate the concern.” Kuroo was forced to keep his tone as light and happy as possible, especially with Bokuto in the room, he was always as nosy as ever, and he really didn’t need to know about this. “But I’m over it, it was years ago, and Tsukki, is wonderful. Now, I should be getting back, he’s probably thirsty.” Kuroo gestured towards the cups in his hands as he nodded and made his way back towards the entryway to the kitchen.

“Thirsty for you!” Bokuto yelled, getting a chuckled out of Kuroo as he turned his head back, knowing very well that Bokuto and Akaashi were going to have a small conversation about what just happened. With any luck, Bokuto could easily steer himself and Akaashi off the topic of Kuroo’s past. 

But seriously, when exactly did Kenma tell him about that. It didn’t bother him anymore, but no one would exactly be thrilled to wake up one day and find their significant other gone without a trace. Kuroo spent most of high school wallowing in that, and if it wasn’t for Kenma, he probably wouldn’t have gotten through it. Anyway, now back to the topic, or should he say person, at hand, Tsukishima.

Kuroo opened the door to Tsukishima’s room, shaking Akaashi’s conversation from his mind, the guy had nothing to worry about. 

Tsukishima hadn’t moved from his spot, still sitting on the bed, shirtless, and with his hand resting on his forehead. It had only been about five minutes since he last left him, so not   
much could have happened in the time. But even when Tsukishima wasn’t talking, his silence made Kuroo want to leap across the room and plant a kiss on those pouting lips, which were barely visible underneath the shadow of his hand.

“Water.” Kuroo gave a pleasant smile that surprised even himself, he really was in a good mood today. 

Tsukishima looked up at him, nodding, giving somewhat of an apologetic gesture as he took the water and sipped it. “Oh, it’s not cold.” Kuroo couldn’t decide if he sounded disappointed or surprised. It was always hard to tell with him.

As if the provoking side of Kuroo saw this moment as a way to seize an opportunity, he sat down next to Tsukishima, resting his hand just inches away from the blonde’s, grinning at him as Tsukishima averted his eyes. “Well excuse me princess.” He teased, it hadn’t been that long, but he knew just how to push Tsukishima’s buttons.

“I’m not a princess.” His tone was bland, but still with enough emotion for Kuroo to tell that he wasn’t pissed off. He guessed that Tsukishima was probably trying to read him, figure out what he was going to say and do next.

“I don’t know, I think you’d make a pretty cute one.” As if trying to provoke his boyfriend even more, Kuroo leaned in and kissed Tsukishima on the cheek, causing the taller boys face to turn bright red, also giving Kuroo enough time to casually place his hand over top of Tsukishima’s. “Do you have work today?” He really was the master of provoking people, getting them all flustered and then quickly changing the subject before they have a chance to react.

“I’m working the evening shift tonight.” Kuroo watched as Tsukishima shrugged, seeming as expressionless as always.

“Is that so?” Kuroo made sure to have a slightly higher tone to his voice, one that signified he was up to something, and he knew Tsukishima knew he was up to something.

“What?” Tsukishima shifted his eyes, bringing them up to watch Kuroo, Kuroo already had that scheming look in his eyes, but he knew by this point his boyfriend would be unamused by something like that. Kuroo knew that Tsukishima wasn’t the kind of person who could be easily swayed from his eyes.

Kuroo deicded to take this opportunity to flirt with Tsukishima some more, to touch him more, to let his hand gently run up the course of his exposed skin, running from his hand all the way up his arm to the nape of his neck. Kuroo knew that Tsukishima was pretty much a rock when it came to things like this, but that didn’t stop him from getting a slight flustered expression on the taller boy for half a second, that was more than enough to satisfy him.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed, using that voice of his that he knew would get Tsukishima right on edge. “We still have a few hours, you know?” 

Maybe Kuroo was just in the mood for it, or maybe he wanted to have a repeat of the previous night, since Tsukishima so frequently seemed to forget their drunken escapades. Or maybe he just wanted to make out with him, who knew? The high Kuroo felt whenever he touched Tsukishima would have been enough to almost double his life by this point.  
“And?” 

Kuroo learned pretty quickly that Tsukishima wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who notices when people are flirting with him, he was so much in denial and dense that on their first date, Tsukishima had to even ask Kuroo if he really liked him. So by now, Kuroo often realized that if he wanted to do anything with Tsukishima, he had to tell him up front.

“Tsukki, I think you know what I mean by now.” Kuroo continued to coo in Tsukishima’s ear. He was determined to get a reaction out of the blonde one way or another. At this point it didn’t even matter what it was, Tsukishima could give him some snarky reply, or he could turn and kiss him. Kuroo liked riling him up, but he even more liked being with Tsukishima, regardless of what the context was. 

They say that when you kiss the person that you love, sparks fly, but for Kuroo it was a lot more than that. Maybe it was overly cliché to say that he was drawn to Tsukishima that day he first met him at the waffle house, but it was truth. Tsukishima was the light that was luring him in. Well, for Kuroo it wasn’t so much luring, he was already lost in Tsukishima’s light.

There was a moment when Kuroo was pretty sure Tsukishima could sense what he was thinking, whether it be because they were connected, or Tsukishima was just that good at reading people, it didn’t matter. But what did matter to Kuroo was the way Tsukishima turned to face him, he was still shirtless, and had a glow about his pale skin that made him that much more desirable in Kuroo’s eyes. Looking at him through the dim light that was starting to peak in through the curtains on the wall next to them, he could make out remnants of last night, the various bruising and bite marks of another one of their drunken adventures. If anything, it made him think about and take notice of how pale skin definitely does bruise more easily. He chuckled, thinking that Tsukishima would probably have to wear a scarf at work tonight. In the back of his mind, he couldn’t tell if he was laughing because he thought it was funny, or because he was slightly proud of himself, either way, he wouldn’t mind making a few more marks on his boyfriend’s neck. 

Out of all the things Kuroo learned from Tsukishima, he learned about how quite impulsive the taller boy could be. He was silent most of the time, and hard to read, but he had a few moments where he would surprise him, making the first move to kiss him, almost yelling at him in an attempt to ask him a question that would only be slightly out of the ordinary. But Kuroo’s favorite thing about him became how snarky he could be, it was almost like the ‘jerk’s’ and the ‘you piss me off’s became ways of saying ‘I love you’. Okay, maybe not that far, it was still a little too early in their relationship to be saying things like that. Although, Kuroo wouldn’t exactly mind.

But the impulsive thing right now, was Tsukishima. Kuroo didn’t even intend to get anything out of him other than a snarky reply at this moment, but once again, Tsukishima surprised him.

Pushing himself forward on the bed, Kuroo felt the sweet feeling of Tsukishima’s lips pressed tightly against his, they were chapped like always, Tsukishima never did bother to put on balm like Kuroo did, he could feel every imperfect crack along his lips as the kiss lingered, giving Kuroo time to interlock their fingers together, running through the options in his head of what to do. He could easily push Tsukishima down on the bed and have his way with him for a few hours, or he could let Tsukishima decide how this happens, maybe he could give the guy a chance to top. Kuroo did remember that Tsukishima had mentioned that he used to be a guy who strictly did one-night-stands. Maybe that could be fun.  
“What? No tongue?” Kuroo teased, feeling the slight moment of discomfort and sorrow as Tsukishima pulled away. In his mind, he immediately thought ‘so much for round two’.  
Tsukishima glared at him, just as he had expected with a smirk like that. “Fuck you.”

“Well if you want to, go ahead.” Kuroo teased, the sorrow instantly turned into a cunning feeling, one that was all too comfortable for Kuroo as he put on that provoking smile one more time.

Kuroo didn’t consider himself to be a bad boyfriend, though he still was pretty terrible at it, considering he was used to the whole one-night-stand thing for the past few years, but his biggest problem right now was trying to suppress his insane sexual urges when it came to Tsukishima. And Tsukishima being an indirect tease with killer legs wasn’t helping anything. But if someone kisses you and immediately pulls away just as soon as you start to get comfortable with it, it would leave anyone feeling dejected. Or at least, that’s what it was like in Kuroo’s mind.

Kuroo watched as Tsukishima rolled his eyes, pushing past him and getting off the bed. His legs seemed to stumble almost as they hit the carpet, Kuroo forced himself to stop the chuckle that was forming in his mouth as he watched the blonde struggle for his clothes. He was so cute when he was like this.

“Tsukki, you know what they say, having sex before work can be a great way to increase your energy and be more productive.” Kuroo winked at the blonde, keeping his eyes on Tsukishima as he put on a pair of black pants, it was a cross between jeans and dress pants. He still had a few hours, but it looked like Tsukishima was already getting into his uniform for work.

Tsukishima turned his head and glared at Kuroo. “I’m pretty sure you’re the only person that says that.”

“Tsukki, don’t be so cold.” Kuroo teased, getting off of the bed and joining his boyfriend on the floor as he grabbed his shirt out of the pile. 

It was a plain white shirt, usually something Kuroo only wore when he was at practice, but he easily put it over his head. It was a bit tighter than most shirts, and he knew it outlined his muscles on his arms and chest perfectly, it was like it was his own subtle way of teasing Tsukishima, secretly hoping in the back of his mind that the blonde would just take him. Oh, what he would give to be kissed by Tsukishima right about now. Damn it, leaving for work ruins everything.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you this.” Tsukishima looked up, bringing himself eye level with Kuroo. This wasn’t the first time Kuroo heard those words before, usually whenever Tsukishima wanted to ask him something, it didn’t even have to be anything major, just something general, he would always start it off with that line. 

“What?” Kuroo felt himself become all too pleased at the chance to answer Tsukishima’s question. Kuroo wanted to learn more about Tsukishima, and he wanted Tsukishima to learn about him.

“What do you do? Do you just play volleyball and mooch off of Bokuto?” It was hard to tell if he was being serious or not, you could never really tell with Tsukishima.

“Tsukki, I’m wounded.” He wasn’t entirely wrong though, when it came down to it, Tsukishima was the only one in their entire apartment that had a job. Well, that’s not true, Yamaguchi did work a part time job at the library on campus on the weekends. “but yeah, we’re all moochers, rich kids living off of our parent’s wealth.” Kuroo threw one of his hands in the air, as if it was a nonchalant reaction. 

Normally a question like that would have pissed a normal person off, being told you were a moocher who was just living off of your successful parents, but Kuroo was used to it. In his mind, when you come from wealth, you usually can never live up to the expectations of your parents. Everyone is always expecting you to be just as great as them, and become just as successful. For some people, maybe that’s possible, but not for Kuroo, but he excepted that long ago. 

For someone like Bokuto, he was certaintly one of the people who could make that possible, he had the physical talent just like his uncle, in a few years he expected to hear Bokuto’s name on whatever one of the important shows on the sports channel were. Even Akaashi and Kenma were both smart enough to inherit their parents companies once they graduated, Kenma’s family owned a software company, the kind of place that works on computers and other technology, and Akaashi’s made sporting goods, that’s probably why to this day he still plays volleyball, well, that and Bokuto.

“Doesn’t that bother you though?” Tsukishima almost seemed concerned, a different tone than his normal snarky tone. That’s probably why it was so hard to tell when he was being serious and not.

“Not really.” Kuroo sighed, it felt like the shoe was on the other foot, so to speak, where now Tsukishima was the one initiating things and Kuroo was the one giving vague one worded answers. What was with him today? “Growing up with how I did, you get used to people expecting too much from you. On top of that, my parents probably wouldn’t have accepted me getting a normal job at a restaurant like you, Tsukki.”

“Sounds tough. Sorry for asking.” Tsukishima gave an apologetic look and voice sounded almost sympathetic, it was vague and lasted only for a second, but Kuroo still registered that it was a look that he wasn’t used to.

“Don’t worry, Tsukki, I’m used to it. You should ask me some more questions, if you want.” As if his animal instinct kicked back in, Kuroo hovered over Tsukishima, the blonde was bent down, putting on a fresh new pair of white socks that he just pulled out of his drawer, making Kuroo taller as he stood next to him.

“Hm.” As if Tsukishima was pondering something, he stood back up, becoming taller than Kuroo once again. 

Kuroo made a mental note as the taller boy bit his lip and stared at the plain off-white wall on the other side of the room. What was he thinking? Kuroo often wondered if there were ever any questions that Tsukishima wanted to ask him, that he never brought himself to say. Tsukishima was pretty quiet and reserved, so even something so simple as asking a question became hard to read from the blonde.

“Is the volleyball team still letting people join?”

“Huh?” Another shocked response from Kuroo that seemed to completely come out of left field. Not that he was complaining though. “Yes, yes we are. Want to join?” 

It took Kuroo a minute to collect his thoughts, realize what was happening, and what was being asked. He was expecting something more along the lines of ‘how was it like growing up with parents like that?’ or ‘Are Akaashi and Kenma in the same boat?’. Those questions would have been better, Kuroo was prepared for those, they were pretty generic, but the kind of questions he expected Tsukishima to ask, since he always did like to bring up ‘we still don’t know much about each other’. But Kuroo welcomed the change, leering, he was still determined to get Tsukishima to join the club with him. The team wasn’t anywhere close to going to nationals or anything of the like, but someone with Tsukishima’s height would be more than useful to them.

Tsukishima’s words seemed as vague and emotionless as always, but Kuroo held onto them, like every syllable was important to him. Tsukishima did always have a way of talking slow when he was collecting his thoughts, the way his lips seemed to move just as slowly as he spoke only made Kuroo want to kiss him all the more. He thought about how he really needed to stop his sexual thoughts and listen to his boyfriend.

“One of the school counselors told me I was one of a few students who hasn’t joined a club yet. He told me it doesn’t have any effect on my studies or scholarships, but that I was ‘encouraged’ to. I’d rather not have to go see him again, so.” You could sense the annoyance in Tsukishima’s voice. Kuroo knew undoubtedly that Tsukishima was smart, so smart that there was no way he wasn’t at the top of his class, so getting pulled into one of the schools’ offices of any kind was a new thing for him. But, if his boyfriend needed help, he was there to help him.

“Tsukki!” Kuroo threw his arms opened, as if he was welcoming the blonde with a hug. “Of course you can join, we have practice every day starting at four. As your captain, I can assure you that everyone else will welcome you to the team!” Kuroo couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice, for the past several weeks he had been trying to coax Tsukishima into joining the team, who would have thought all he had to do was rely on a counselors’ nagging? “You really do surprise me, you know that?” He almost had a loving tone as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, kissing him on the cheek.

“How about I really surprise you and-“ Tsukishima began, the same annoyed tone risen in his voice.

“-And kiss me?” Kuroo teased him, smirking as he tightened his grip around the blonde. Kuroo tried to hide his smirk, knowing the exact reaction he was going to get out of the blonde, by now he learned every single way to provoke his boyfriend.

“I was going to say smack you.” Tsukishima still remained unfazed by Kuroo’s evident flirting. 

At this point, Kuroo was just trying to get his boyfriend to crawl back into bed with him for a few more hours. Though, he couldn’t complain too much to himself right now, he did get Tsukishima to join the volleyball team, so that was already a win for him. Even though he could already hear Oikawa’s annoyed, high-pitched voice complaining about it come Monday afternoon. That guy never did take too kindly to change, so he would just have to deal with it. It’s not like he could expect everyone to do whatever he wanted all the time anyway.

“Oh, Tsukki.” Kuroo tried to return Tsukishima with a similar tone of sarcasm, and to his delight, it made the blonde do his signature scowl, the one that made his eyebrows furrow together. For some reason, whenever he looked like that, Kuroo was ten times more attracted to him, maybe it was just the way his lips pouted. “Are you heading off to work now? I’ll walk you there.” Normally in this situation, Kuroo would have just gave another provoking comment and let it be the end of it, and let Tsukishima walk off and do his own thing, but right now he couldn’t help but wanting to spend more time with his boyfriend, he was in an exceptionally good mood today, maybe it was from last night, or maybe it was from finding out his boyfriend was going to join his sports team, who knew? But, maybe if Tsukishima would let him kiss him again, this mood of his would be even better.

“You don’t have to, it’s not that much longer of a walk from here, plus I want to stop at the store to buy some things before I get there.” Tsukishima’s tone didn’t seem as harsh as it normally would have been in a situation like this, Kuroo thought maybe he was in a good mood too.

“No, I insist!” Kuroo boasted, as if he realized this was a good opportunity for something. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let my precious Tsukki wander the streets alone at night?” Kuroo teased, pressing his lips lightly to the exposed skin on Tsukishima’s neck. He could feel his boyfriend tense up as his face turned red, telling him that he did his job well.

“It’s barely the afternoon.” 

“Tsukki, are you telling me you don’t want me to come with you? What if you’re still not completely over your hang over and someone tries to take advantage of you?” Kuroo was persistent, and he knew it, he was also great at nagging, so great in fact, that he knew Tsukishima would probably give in to him at any moment just to get him to stop. 

“Alright.” Tsukishima sighed, giving Kuroo the answer that he wanted. But the second I get to the waffle house, you’re coming back home, the last thing I need is you showing up as a customer again.” 

“I’m the best kind of customer though, because I give the nicest tips.” 

“No, no you’re not. You’re definitely the worst kind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be back in Tsukki's perspective, and will probably be a bit of a shorter one.


	11. Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh, by the way, you should probably change.” Kuroo raised his head up a little bit, walking over to bench, taking his arms off of Tsukishima, and pulling a shirt out of a bag that sat on the edge of it. Tsukishima noticed it before and just assumed it was someone’s school bag, but was it actually for the team?
> 
> “What do you mean?” Tsukishima looked at Kuroo curiously, as he handed him the shirt. He held it up against the light examining it, it was a jersey, just like the one Kuroo had, except this time instead of it having a number ‘1’ on it, it had a number ‘11’.
> 
> “We normally don’t wear our uniforms for practice matches, but since we just got the rest of the new ones in, we’re all going to. That one’s yours. Yamaguchi mentioned before that you played number 11 in high school, so we both thought it would be a good fit.” Kuroo smiled, it had a vague since on innocence to it, but also still as provoking as ever.

“Gather round everyone.” Kuroo called, clapping his hands together as the rest of the team gathered in a circle around him, with Tsukishima in the middle, feeling just as uncomfortable as he looked, a scowl already plastered on his face. He could feel everyone staring at him as Kuroo drew more attention to himself. “This is Tsukishima, he will be joining the team starting today, he’s a middle blocker, so welcome him.” Kuroo sounded almost pleasant, the way he lightly draped his arm around Tsukishima’s shoulder made him want to smack him, or tell him not to make a big deal out of this.

Tsukishima was almost reluctant to come here today. His classes were all done and he had been working at the waffle house less and less, he still had enough money, but the amount he could spend on random items was definitely noticeable. But despite being free, Tsukishima still found himself dreading coming here, maybe it was just because he hadn’t done this in so long, or because being with Kuroo would put him on edge even more than he already was. Though, Tsukishima already knew very well that if he tried to back out now, Kuroo, Bokuto, and even Yamaguchi would drag him out of the condo all the way to the gym, and he really wanted to try his best to avoid something like that.

“Hey!” The group of boys that were gathering around him all cheered out in unison, they all seemed to be in good spirits, which was a little alarming to Tsukishima. 

He was feeling claustrophobic from all the people gathered around him. A few of them he recognized, there was of course Bokuto and Akaashi, his roommates, and Nishinoya, his former roommate, he was hoping him and Asahi weren’t having a hard time back at their old apartment now that Yamaguchi and him had moved out. He also recognized Oikawa and Iwaizumi, though he wasn’t exactly happy to see them, and the look of displeasure on Oikawa’s face was already evident as he cocked his head to the side, only looking at Iwaizumi.

“Alright, let’s do stretches, we’ll do a quick practice match with Tsukishima on the team, and another school is coming in about two hours, we’ve never played against them before, so be on your guard.” Kuroo took a sip from a water bottle he had in his other hand. It felt abnormal for Tsukishima to see him in a leader position like this, he saw it at the last practice match he went to, but it almost felt like Kuroo was a completely different person. He was team captain for a reason, maybe it was just because Tsukishima was so used to Kuroo only being his boyfriend and flirting with him, but they say everyone has different sides to them, and Tsukishima guess this was one of Kuroo’s.

“Tsukki, come with me.” Kuroo moved his hand that was on Tsukishima’s shoulder to his wrist, practically tugging him off to the other side of the gym as everyone else sort of wandered off on their own, doing their own stretches in individual groups. “I’ll help you stretch.”

“I don’t think you have to do that, it may have been a few years, but I do remember how to do that properly.” Tsukishima felt himself become snarky, but still sat down on the floor next to Kuroo without a second thought. 

He looked around the room before he began, looking over at the rest of the team, Bokuto and Akaashi were stretching together, well, it was more like Akaashi was stretching, and Bokuto was making passes at him and pining for his attention. It was almost amusing to watch, as Akaashi stay silent most of the time, occasionally muttering something under his breath, probably telling Bokuto that it was important to stretch before a match, or something.

Around the gym, everyone else was pretty much doing the same thing, a few stretching in groups, a few running laps as they shouted various ‘yeah!’s in enthusiastic voices, it was already starting to get loud in here, and Tsukishima thought he felt a slight headache starting as he sat his water bottle down next to his legs. 

“Are you always this way with the team?” Tsukishima spoke softly, feeling Kuroo sit next to him, his eyes wondered onto Kuroo as he could see his muscles stretch through his sweats. Damn it, why was his boyfriend so attractive? It was distracting.

“What do you mean?” Kuroo looked at him with a puzzled expression, he almost looked innocent like that.

“Motivational, a good leader, not an asshole.” Tsukishima sounded like he was reading off a definition from a dictionary. The expression on Kuroo’s face made him look like he was ready to burst out laughing. He wasn’t sure exactly what prompted him to say it. Making small talk? Trying to drown out the yells from the other members? Maybe he was just bored and mildly curious as to what Kuroo would say this time, who knew. The longer he was around Kuroo, the more Tsukishima found himself reacting strangely, becoming impulsive, saying and doing things he normally wouldn’t say or do. He could hear Yamaguchi’s voice in his head telling him that he was changing, though, that in itself pissed Tsukishima off, so maybe he wasn’t.

“Tsukki, I didn’t know you thought so highly of me.” Kuroo teased, as he moved, positioning himself closer to Tsukishima, planting a light kiss on his cheek, causing the blondes face to heat up. Their legs were practically touching now as they sat so close together, Tsukishima could even feel the muscles in Kuroo’s legs tightening as he starched himself out across the floor.

“Please don’t kiss me while we’re in practice.” Tsukishima pushed his glasses up his nose, trying to shake his boyfriend off of him. He wasn’t sure why, but he found himself being in a rather sour mood today. Maybe it was just from the dread or having all of this unwanted attention on him.

“So I can kiss you when we get home?” Kuroo teased, wrapping his arm back around Tsukishima’s shoulder, pulling him close. Tsukishima could feel the sweat from Kuroo’s body, and his tight muscles from his clothes, making the taller boy feel flustered as he did his best to avert eye contact with him.

“I didn’t say that-“ Tsukishima began, it was clear that he was going to use this opportunity to make as many provoking remarks at the blonde as possible.

“-Captain.” A cold and harsh tone interrupted Tsukishima, not that he was complaining, right now he would welcome any sort of distraction. It was Oikawa. (Okay, maybe not that distraction.)

“I’m not tossing to him.” His voice sounded just as unpleasant as always, as he pointed to Tsukishima with a scowl on his face. He seemed to be in such a bad mood that it could even rival Tsukishima’s.

“Isn’t it a little early to be this unpleasant?” Kuroo smirked at him, getting a ‘tch’ as Oikawa turned his head to the side. Tsukishima briefly wondered what he ever did to piss Oikawa off. Part of him thought about being snarky, and saying ‘alright then, I’ll leave’, but he was pretty sure that Kuroo would stop him, probably by grabbing him by the hem of the shirt again. Maybe Oikawa just didn’t take well to new people, or maybe he was just salty about the ‘I’m not captain’ thing again, who knew honestly, but Tsukishima knew that if he was going to stay on the team, then he was going to have to get along with him. 

“I told you before, but I don’t think that our captain should be spending his practice by flirting with his boyfriend.” Oikawa crossed his arms, he seemed very standoff-ish today, not that from what Tsukishima had seen, he wasn’t everyday.

“You can be stubborn all you want, trashy-kawa, but if you keep refusing to work with the other members, Akaashi will take your place as our regular setter.” Kuroo had a malice look in voice and his eyes. In almost shocked Tsukishima, he had never really heard Kuroo be angry before. Then again, anyone would probably give this sort of attitude if they had to deal with his ‘I won’t toss to the new guy’ mantra every day. “But if it displeases you that much, Tsukki will be on our side of the net today, and Akaashi will be setting to him, you and Iwaizumi will be on the other team.”

Tsukishima watched with somewhat amusement as Oikawa walked away, taking a deep breath like he was calming himself. Tsukishima thought he sort of resembled a little kid throwing a tantrum, as he walked back over to Iwaizumi, probably complaining about what just happened, you could even see his face turn red with anger as he talked to him. But, Tsukishima had to hand it to Kuroo, he was incredibly good at dealing with people, he knew exactly what to say to get the kind of reaction out of them that he wanted, and that in itself was scary.

“Is he always like that?” Tsukishima found himself repeating a question that he was pretty sure he asked before. Right now, Tsukishima pegged Oikawa as just a snobby guy who wanted his way or nothing, which was annoying, but he wasn’t the kind of guy that Tsukishima immediately wanted to hate, then again maybe it was just because he knew Oikawa was the type of person who good at what he did, regardless of how terrible, or ‘trashy’ a person’s personality is, you sort of have to admire that.

“You’ll get used to it.” Kuroo almost seemed like he was comforting him, as he brought his attention back over to his boyfriend, bringing his face dangerously close to Tsukishima’s. “He’ll come around, he just doesn’t like change, and he probably feels inferior because he knows more eyes will be on the new tall guy than on him.” He put another light kiss on Tsukishima’s cheek.

“Aren’t you supposed to be stretching?” Tsukishima turned his head to the side, getting a slight glimpse of his boyfriend come into view. Kuroo moved and was now pretty much on top of Tsukishima, or well, more like he was behind him, his arms draped over his boyfriends chest from behind, and his legs almost hugger the blondes as he pulled him closer. He could feel Kuroo’s stomach muscles on his back, and Tsukishima didn’t dare admit to himself, or to Kuroo, that he thought this was nice, Kuroo was always so warm, and over the past few weeks, he got used to those big warm arms holding him. Fuck, he felt so mushy now, like Kuroo was changing him.

“I’m helping you stretch, Tsukki.” Kuroo somehow had a light and pleasant tone to his voice, one that signaled to Tsukishima that he was up to something.

Tsukishima could feel Kuroo put pressure against his back, pushing him forward against the floor of the gym. There was a slight twinge of pain as his body got adjusted to the new added pressure. Damn, he was heavy. Tsukishima thought to himself as he scowled, looking back at the man now on his back. Kuroo’s face was about halfway down his back, resting his chin comfortably on him, as if Tsukishima were a pillow. He could feel Kuroo’s always messy hair through his shirt, as if it was tickling him. He thought for a brief second that he could feel Kuroo’s heartbeat as he was breathing against him, it was soft and calm, peaceful. Until, Tsukishima felt those hands of his running along his chest, causing him to shove them away as if it were just an instant reflex. He knew that if he let Kuroo continue, there would be nothing stopping them from making out on the gym floor.

“I told you, not here.” He scowled, turning around and giving a judgmental glare at his boyfriend.

“You’re so cold, Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed, still in that provoking tone.

“And you’re a provoking asshole.”

 

They all lined up on the sides of the courts, Tsukishima stood in the front line with Kuroo right behind him. On their side of the court they had, Nishinoya, Kuroo, Akaashi, Bokuto, Tsukishima, and some other guy Tsukishima had never seen before. He thought he overheard one of the other members calling him Ennoshita, but he wasn’t sure. On the other side of the net was Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and a group of four others who Tsukishima was pretty sure he had never met in his life. They all looked like a pretty well rounded team, though Tsukishima’s height was still well above theirs, so he wasn’t too concerned, and by his tone, neither was Kuroo.

Tsukishima really only considered himself doing this because the counselor, Kuroo, Bokuto, and Yamaguchi were constantly nagging him to join. Ever since he helped out with some blocking against Bokuto’s powerful spikes, he thought ‘why not?’. It wasn’t until he hit the ball against his hand again that he remembered how good it felt. It was like a wave of nostalgia, but the good kind.

“Tsukki, if you need help, you can just rely on me.” Kuroo cooed from behind him, even when he wasn’t facing the guy, he could still feel his provoking presence all around him, almost distracting him from the match.

 

The practice match with the team felt like it came and went before it even started. There’s a different feel you get when you actually play with them instead of watching them. Tsukishima thought as he walked over to the bench and grabbed his water bottle.

Bokuto and Akaashi were perfect like always, Akaashi setting toss after toss to Bokuto, so he could slam it down on the other side, they were both perfectly in sync, and Bokuto had the strength and willpower to get past any block. Outside of that, Kuroo was just as good as Tsukishima remembered, he was still a few inches shorter than Tsukishima, but his blocks held up really well against the other team.

Tsukishima spent a great deal of the match just observing, watching what his team was doing, watching what the other team was doing, shooting Kuroo occasional glares as he made passes at him from behind. If anything, they were a much more well-rounded team than he had originally given them credit for when he first saw them. He even had to admit that Oikawa was a skilled setter, just with a trashy personality.

“Tsukki!” Bokuto chimed next to him, also grabbing his bottle off of the bench. “What did you think? Did you see my awesome spikes?” He seemed more happy than normal, as he placed a hand on Tsukishima’s shoulder, as if he was congratulating him or something. Bokuto was the kind of person who liked to have attention on him, as a wing spiker and the ace, it only made sense, he was loud, liked to brag, and always called a lot of attention to himself.

“I was on the same team as you.” Tsukishima said as if it was the most obvious thing ever, of course he noticed how good Bokuto’s spikes were, he always yelled ‘hey, hey, hey’ after he got one in, you couldn’t miss it.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo walked over to him, as smug as ever. “You did well today.” Bokuto took his hand off of Tsukishima, as Kuroo embraced the blonde in a slightly awkward hug from behind, wrapping his free arm around Tsukishima’s shoulder from behind. Tsukishima knew it was a compliment, but he couldn’t bring himself to muster out a simple ‘thanks’, he had never really been good at taking those sorts of things. He always thought it would be easier to acknowledge and deal with his faults instead of anything else.

“Most of the points we scored were thanks to Bokuto, I only stopped a handful of spikes from the other team.” Tsukishima noticed that his tone sounded almost sad, which came as a surprise to him. What was he so sad about? They won, and it was a practice match anyway. Though, he was surprised that his sour mood had lightened up a bit, and now he was just calm and at ease. Of course, that might have just been from Kuroo touching him.

“You’re far too hard on yourself, Tsukki. We still won after all.” Was Kuroo trying to comfort him? Tsukishima knew that Kuroo had to be well aware that Tsukishima would not have joined the volleyball team of his own will. Hell, Yamaguchi had to practically lock him into the gym in order to get Tsukishima to even go to the practice match Kuroo invited him to. So Tsukishima figured that Kuroo was probably trying to give him some extra motivation so he didn’t quit. Even if it was just to prevent him from quitting, Tsukishima found a brief smile forming at the corners of his lips. With any luck, maybe Kuroo wouldn’t be able to tell.

“Maybe so.” Tsukishima could barely hear the words as he spoke them, there was no way Kuroo and Bokuto heard them as well. He wasn’t unhappy to be here, but he was definitely struggling to put forth the enthusiasm that Bokuto and Kuroo had for this sort of thing.

“Oh, by the way, you should probably change.” Kuroo raised his head up a little bit, walking over to bench, taking his arms off of Tsukishima, and pulling a shirt out of a bag that sat on the edge of it. Tsukishima noticed it before and just assumed it was someone’s school bag, but was it actually for the team?

“What do you mean?” Tsukishima looked at Kuroo curiously, as he handed him the shirt. He held it up against the light examining it, it was a jersey, just like the one Kuroo had, except this time instead of it having a number ‘1’ on it, it had a number ‘11’.

“We normally don’t wear our uniforms for practice matches, but since we just got the rest of the new ones in, we’re all going to. That one’s yours. Yamaguchi mentioned before that you played number 11 in high school, so we both thought it would be a good fit.” Kuroo smiled, it had a vague since on innocence to it, but also still as provoking as ever. Of course Yamaguchi had something to do with this, he was always pretty much hell-bent on getting Kuroo and Tsukishima to be together, even from the first moment he met Kuroo.

“Oh, thanks.” Tsukishima was almost taken off guard by Kuroo’s sudden consideration, well, you probably wouldn’t call it consideration as much as you would call it him prying.

“Hm.” Kuroo hummed slightly, taking another sip from his bottle. 

Tsukishima could already see around him the other members of the team changing. There was a small crowd of people up in the stands that were cheering for Oikawa when he took off his shirt., making just about everyone in the room scowl and roll their eyes. Tsukishima decided to take this opportunity to move somewhere less crowded, behind the bleachers. He wasn’t feeling uncomfortable changing in front of people, but as the new guy he already had a lot of eyes on him, and some privacy is always appreciated in changing. Of course, Kuroo didn’t seem to get that memo.

“Tsukki, do you need help changing?” As if he were a shadow, a shorter shadow, Kuroo appeared right behind Tsukishima, smiling and already shirtless. It was already kind of dark from the overcast of the bleachers, but Tsukishima could clearly make out every muscle on Kuroo’s well defined chest.

“I don’t think I need your help with just putting on a shirt.” Tsukishima scowled at him, turning his back to the bedhead as he lifted his shirt over his head, letting it fall onto the floor. He could feel Kuroo’s strong arms wrap around behind him almost instantly, sweat pouring off of both of their bodies as they stood so close together.

“Tsukki, you should let me change you, just this once.” Kuroo whispered in his ear, sending a chill up his spine as he gently kissed his neck. Kuroo really did know what to do to get his way. Then again, maybe Tsukishima was just far too quick to give in to his boyfriend. It wasn’t like there was anything stopping him, it was different now than before they were dating, he had no reason to resist Kuroo now other than just his own damn pride of not wanting to give in.

Tsukishima’s arms were crossed as the jersey was wedged tightly in-between his hands, he loosened his grip, letting his hands fall to his sides, as if he was giving in to Kuroo. He let Kuroo turn himself around, facing the bedhead as he let him have the shirt in his hands. Damn his perfect smile. Tsukishima really couldn’t help himself when it came to Kuroo.

“You know, you really did do good out there today.” Kuroo said softly, almost sweet and innocently, as he stretched the shirt out, motioning for Tsukishima to lift up his arms, as Kuroo pulled the shirt over Tsukishima, minding his glasses not to knock them off his head. He had a special way of letting his fingers trickle over Tsukishima’s arms and chest as he pulled the fabric over him. Causing Tsukishima to draw in a sharp breath as he tried to control himself against his boyfriends’ touch.

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” Tsukishima turned his head slightly, refusing to make eye contact as he adjusted the shirt with his hands.

“Tsukki, I’m being serious.” Kuroo reached out with his hand, letting his fingertips rest on Tsukishima’s chin, forcing the blonde to look at him. “You really did do a great job out there; it was your first time playing with us after all. You should be proud.” Kuroo planted a gentle kiss on Tsukishima’s cheek. Why was it that Kuroo could be an asshole, yet still have a sweet side to him that was so inviting?

As if Kuroo realized how mushy the two of them had gotten in the past few minutes, he smirked, changing the atmosphere once again. “Do you want to change me?” He winked, holding his hand out that had his jersey in it, that provoking smirk on his face as if he was expecting Tsukishima to take it.

“Sorry, I’ll have to pass.” Tsukishima acted as disinterested as he possibly could in a situation like this, though, deep down his body was screaming to touch Kuroo’s bare chest right now.

“Tsukki, don’t be so cold.” Kuroo teased him, like he always did. It almost made Tsukishima happy to see his boyfriend in such high spirits like this. “Can I have a good luck kiss, then?”

Tsukishima walked past Kuroo, thinking of his response before he would join everyone else back by the bench. He could feel himself becoming impulsive once again. “How about if we win I’ll give you something special?” What did he just say? Was his mouth moving on its own again?

“Tsukki!” Kuroo yelled, quickly pulling his jersey over his head as the two of them ran to where Bokuto was. You could see and hear the excitement on his face, it was a new look for him, a good look. Why should he get to be the one to tease Tsukishima all the time, now it was his turn?

“Kuroo.” Akaashi spoke, distracting everyone around him as they rejoined the group and put their water bottles down. Well, except for Bokuto, who seemed to beam with more energy as his boyfriend stood next to him. “What time is the other team getting here?”

Kuroo still had his arms wrapped around Tsukishima, reaching one of his hands out as if he was looking for a watch, then brought his attention to the clock that hung on the wall of the gym. (He wasn’t wearing a watch). “About less than a half an hour now, if they’re not late.” Kuroo hummed in Tsukishima’s ear, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. He somehow found Kuroo’s cool breath on the back of his neck relaxing.

“I’ve never even heard of this school, have you?” Iwaizumi and Oikawa joined in on the conversation. Well, Iwaizumi joined in on the conversation, Oikawa just stayed behind him as if he were his shadow, he looked like a pissed off, annoyed shadow. And various other team members gathered around, as if they were having small talk.

“I haven’t either.” Bokuto spoke up, voice louder than normal as he leaned on his boyfriend, his spikey hair looked like it was probably hitting Akaashi in the face. “I heard they requested it personally after hearing that Kuroo was the new captain. Is there someone you know on the team?” There were Bokuto’s eavesdropping skills working again, at their finest.

“Not that I can think of.” Kuroo seemed puzzled for a minute, and Tsukishima could feel himself getting comfortable like this, leaning his back into the bedhead as Kuroo nuzzled his neck.

“Hm. Okay, do you think they’ll have any-“ Bokuto began, beaming again as a smirk appeared on his voice. It was a smirk that Tsukishima had seen a few times before, he called it his ‘game face’ smirk, the kind of smirk he puts on when he’s getting ready to enter a match, if he hadn’t been cut off.

“-excuse me.” An unfamiliar voice, or rather, several unfamiliar voices entered the room from one of the various gym entrances, bringing everyone’s attention onto them. “Is this the volleyball gym?”

“Yes!” It felt like the entire team cried out in unison, as the other team soon piled into the room. Looking at them, it was fairly obvious that they were the school they were supposed to be having a practice match with.

Tsukishima removed Kuroo’s hands off of him, as they group looked at the team that just entered. They looked like normal college kids, well, as normal as college kids can look. Most of them were around Bokuto and Akaashi’s height, with no one really sticking out too much. They all wore sweats, matching with the school’s colors. A few of them looked like they had muscles on them, none as impressive as Bokuto’s, but still notable, and to Tsukishima’s surprise, he was still the tallest person in the room.

“They’re not as big as I thought they’d be? Didn’t I hear somewhere that this team came here from a few towns away?” The general gossip started to flood amongst the players, Bokuto’s ears perked up, giving him more fuel for his eavesdropping skills. All while Kuroo dismissed it, making his way over to what Tsukishima assumed to be the captain. Both Akaashi and Oikawa followed him, and Tsukishima decided to as well. He didn’t really have a reason to, but he figured Bokuto wouldn’t be doing anything other than eavesdropping right now.

“Kuroo, long time no see.” The captain had a ‘1’ written on the back of his sweat shirt, he looked like he just got done telling something to his teammates before they all scattered to go do some warm-ups. He put his hands on his hips and locked eyes immediately with Kuroo. 

There were always different airs and vibes around the room when Kuroo would talk to different people, when he would talk to Bokuto, it was more of relaxed, calm feeling, when he would talk to Tsukishima, it was hot, provoking, slightly pressured feeling, when he talked to Oikawa, it was tension, lots of tension, probably from the slight rivalry they had going on more than anything else, and when he talked to this guy, you got the sense that they might break out into a fight. Did Kuroo know him? Tsukishima thought he must have from the pure look of displeasure on his face, he was scowling, like Tsukishima does, worse than when he talks to Oikawa. And the way that they talked to each other made it completely obvious.

“Why are you here?” Kuroo had no tone in his voice, it wasn’t pleased and it wasn’t angry, it was just nothing. Tsukishima couldn’t decide if that meant he was trying to hold back anger or something, but whatever it was, you could tell that Kuroo didn’t like this guy. Tsukishima thought maybe it was someone from Kuroo’s old school before he transferred here. 

“Is that anyway to treat an old friend?” The guy had a pleasant tone in his voice, not quite like Oikawa’s, but it definitely had a familiar ring to it.

“In what world are we friends?” It felt like Kuroo was about to snap, about to lose his temper. Tsukishima did the only thing he could think of (besides kissing him), and placed his hand on top of Kuroo’s shoulder. It seemed to work, it looked like it calmed him down a little, or, if anything, Tsukishima was sure it made Kuroo aware of the fact that he was there.  
“Now, now, now. Don’t be so hasty. You’ll have plenty of time to redeem yourself on the court.” The other boy placed his hands on top of Kuroo’s shoulders. Somehow that pissed Tsukishima off, more than usual. 

Tsukishima took a moment to note all of this guys features, he had a well-defined face, muscles, and dark hair that was combed over to one side, and for whatever reason, made him look a lot angrier. He almost looked snake-like in Tsukishima’s eyes. The guys eyes also locked onto Tsukishima, before turning back to Kuroo. “I can see you already have someone.” He snickered, looking back over at Tsukishima. That seemed to be the tipping point for Kuroo, as Tsukishima could sense that he was clenching his fists as he held them at his sides.  
“Anyway, I should go warm up.” The guy said as he winked and joined the rest of his team.

It felt like everyone was holding their breath, and with that they all collectively started to breathe again, as the tension in the room faded. Kuroo turned around and faced his team, as Tsukishima and everyone else around him looked at him with puzzlement. Tsukishima thought about saying something. Was there anything he could say to calm his boyfriend down right now? Kiss him, maybe? Give him some sort of pep talk? If anything, it made Tsukishima realize how much he had to still learn about Kuroo. Maybe one day he would actually know what say or do to calm his boyfriend down. ‘What kind of boyfriend doesn’t even know how to calm his boyfriend down’? Tsukishima thought to himself, feeling pretty pathetic right now.

“Do you know that man?” Akaashi asked, keeping his head turned and his eyes locked onto the other team. Or maybe, they were locked on Bokuto, who was listening from behind one of the posts on the net to the other teams pre-warm-up chit-chat.

“Sort of.” Kuroo sighed, briefly looking at Tsukishima as if he was apologizing for something. Tsukishima really hated when he looked like that, especially when he did nothing wrong. Kuroo was so provoking all the time, and seeing him like this, it felt strange. “His name is Daishou Suguru.” As if a light bulb just went off inside of Akaashi’s head, he gave a light gasp, and he gave Kuroo a look that read ‘you don’t mean?’, while the rest of the team looked at them both perplexed. “And he was my ex.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the 11th chapter I've written for this story, but I feel like this is the first one that has actual plot, haha. I'm currently working on a schedule for this story, and going to do my best to update it weekly, probably on Thursdays or Fridays. Also, I really wanted to make this chapter have a bit of a cliff hanger.


	12. Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m Daishou Suguru, by the way.” He reached his hand out and extended it to Tsukishima, as if he was expecting him to shake it. 
> 
> “Tsukishima Kei.” Tsukishima tilted his head to the side, scowling, there was no way in hell he was shaking this guy’s hand. In the past, Yamaguchi always did say he was salty about things, and this proved it.
> 
> “Not a team player, huh?” Daishou placed his hands on his hips, he wasn’t annoyed, if anything, he looked like he could be just as provoking as Kuroo if he wanted to be. But this time Kuroo’s attitude seemed different than when he talked to Daishou earlier, now Kuroo seemed stern, like he was holding his ground. It felt like Kuroo was trying to provoke Tsukishima to be as snarky as he could right now.
> 
> “Actually, Tsukki here is quite the team player, he’s our new tall middle blocker.” Kuroo, almost like he was a proud parent, wrapped a arm around Tsukishima, pulling him closer to himself, making Tsukishima short than him as Kuroo rested his chin a top Tsukishima’s head, causing Tsukishima to produce a handful of odd groaning sounds from being taken off guard.

“He’s your ex?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at Kuroo. It only made sense that Kuroo would have had one or two boyfriends before him, this was just his first time hearing about it, and let alone, Kuroo’s ex was here, face to face with them.

“Yeah, it was years ago, back in high school, I guess he still remembers me.” Kuroo laughed, trying to play it off as if it were so many other things, but Tsukishima could tell it was fake, worse than fake. Kuroo really was a terrible liar. It wasn’t just the look in his eyes that gave it away, but the way he placed a hand on the back of his head, the way he gave off a fake smile, and the way he almost closed his eyes, like he was trying to distract himself from something.

“Listen, I’m going to go get the rest of our team ready.” Kuroo tried to disguise whatever tone was in his voice, hiding it with his leadership of being captain, but everyone could tell. Something was bothering him, something that Tsukishima didn’t know about. How exactly are you supposed to be a supportive boyfriend in this situation?

Tsukishima let his eyes wander around the room, looking at Kuroo as he told the other team members what was going on, probably who the starting line-up would be, they all nodded, and Tsukishima looked in other directions, the direction of Daishou. He had a captains’ presence, confident. Probably cocky and a bit of a jerk, Tsukishima thought as he eyed him. It might have just been because he was Kuroo’s ex, but Tsukishima didn’t like him. What was this feeling?

“Hey.” Akaashi spoke from a few feet away, walking over to Tsukishima, Tsukishima nodded at him, as if he were waiting for him to continue, Akaashi wasn’t one to just say ‘hey’ without another reason. “He may be Kuroo’s ex, but don’t let your guard down too much. Let’s just say him and Kuroo have a history.” His voice was calm and collected, like always, and he had a serious look in his eyes as he eyed Tsukishima, almost making the blonde feel on edge. What was he going to say?

“What kind of history?” Tsukishima didn’t mean to pry, but if it was something bad, he wanted to know, he was curious to know, and as Kuroo’s boyfriend, he thought maybe it would be best if he did know. Kuroo and him always went on about wanting to know more about each other, so why shouldn’t he know about Kuroo’s exes?

Hearing himself even think that made Tsukishima want to scowl, normally he wouldn’t care so much about someone’s personal life, it didn’t matter who they were or how important they were. Everyone had a past, but why was Tsukishima suddenly caring about Kuroo’s past so much? He was his boyfriend, sure, but sometimes a lot of things are better left unmentioned.

Akaashi sighed, as if it was a cross between a long story and something he didn’t really want to tell right now. Bokuto appeared behind them as his eyes began looking around the room, like he was doing his usual eavesdropping maneuver, except this time it seemed more like he was keeping guard, knowing Akaashi was probably getting ready to say something that he might not should have. 

“Not a pleasant one. Let’s just say Kuroo is the way that he is today because of him. I wasn’t there and I heard everything from Kenma, but the way he described it, he was Kuroo’s first, and last, before he met you. That’s why he’s a raging pervert and tried too hard to get people to sleep with him, he falls hard and-“

“Akaashi!” Bokuto put a finger over his lips as if he was telling Akaashi to shush or be quiet, in a polite way though. Tsukishima couldn’t really picture Bokuto getting mad at Akaashi, for as long as he knew the two of them, which wasn’t that long, he had never seen them fight. As far as he could tell, they seemed to be the epitome of the perfect couple, it was almost sickening, but in a good kind of way.

It felt like Tsukishima was getting to learn something else about Kuroo, he always figured he had some sort of past. Tsukishima noticed it from the first day he met Kuroo, Kuroo was flirty, he seemed like the kind of person who slept around a lot, but to Tsukishima’s surprise he didn’t want just a friends-with-benefits relationship. He may be dating him, but he still had so much to learn.

Though, Tsukishima would be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t at least a little disappointed that he didn’t get to hear the rest of that sentence, he figured there was some reason behind it, most people don’t act the way they do without reason. For Tsukishima, that reason was he never did reach out to people, he spent most of his middle and high school life in isolation, the only friend he had was Yamaguchi, and because of that, he’s usually a smartass that most people don’t get along with. But despite all that, Kuroo persistently pursued him, provoking him to say yes over and over again until he broke down, even if he still did and said all of those things willingly. Tsukishima still couldn’t help the uneasiness in him.  
As the days went by, Tsukishima could feel himself start to become softer, less snarky, more enjoying his time with Kuroo. The bedhead was changing him, but that’s not what was important now, what was important was Kuroo, and making sure his ex didn’t do anything terrible today. But seriously, what are the odds of something like this happening?

“Our starting line-up will be Tsukishima, Oikawa, Bo, Iwaizumi, Akaashi, Nishinoya as libero, and myself, and I’ll be switching out with Nishinoya. Sound good?” Tsukishima was almost surprised that Kuroo put him in the starting lineup, he hadn’t played volleyball in several years, and this was still his first game in a long time. 

“Yeah.” Tsukishima sighed, you could still see the slight distress and distraction in Kuroo’s eyes, as if he wasn’t focusing completely right now. By now he normally would have made several passes at Tsukishima, telling him that ‘if they won, he would kiss him’ or something like that, this was strange. 

“Hey, you okay?” So strange that Tsukishima felt the need to ask him that, he was always one to rarely show emotions and never be concerned with others, but right now, all he could think about was Kuroo.

“Hm. Of course I am, Tsukki.” Kuroo smiled at him, something was definitely up.

“Don’t forget what I said before, if we win, then I’ll do something ‘special’ for you.” Tsukishima hated acting like that, he was not the flirty one, but outside of full on kissing Kuroo right now, he didn’t think he had any other choice. He hated it, it was like their roles were reserved and he was now the flirty, perverted one. And a good flirt he was not.

But whatever he did, it seemed to work, with a sly smirk, Kuroo’s whole attitude seemed to perk up there, giving Tsukishima that provoking, Cheshire grin he was so used to by this point. It almost made Tsukishima feel relieved as Kuroo placed a light hand on his shoulder, whispering in his ear “Oh, don’t worry, Tsukki, I wouldn’t forget something like that.”

Smirking, as Tsukishima turned his head to scowl at his boyfriend, it was like that whole line gave the both of them the motivation that they needed. Well, until they were met with the slimy eyes of Daishou staring at the two of them. It was like he came out of nowhere, like a snake, smirking as Tsukishima felt him looking over the two of them.

“I’m Daishou Suguru, by the way.” He reached his hand out and extended it to Tsukishima, as if he was expecting him to shake it. 

“Tsukishima Kei.” Tsukishima tilted his head to the side, scowling, there was no way in hell he was shaking this guy’s hand. In the past, Yamaguchi always did say he was salty about things, and this proved it.

“Not a team player, huh?” Daishou placed his hands on his hips, he wasn’t annoyed, if anything, he looked like he could be just as provoking as Kuroo if he wanted to be. But this time Kuroo’s attitude seemed different than when he talked to Daishou earlier, now Kuroo seemed stern, like he was holding his ground. It felt like Kuroo was trying to provoke Tsukishima to be as snarky as he could right now.

“Actually, Tsukki here is quite the team player, he’s our new tall middle blocker.” Kuroo, almost like he was a proud parent, wrapped a arm around Tsukishima, pulling him closer to himself, making Tsukishima short than him as Kuroo rested his chin a top Tsukishima’s head, causing Tsukishima to produce a handful of odd groaning sounds from being taken off guard.

“Is that so?” Daishou refused to take his eyes off of Tsukishima, making him feel very uncomfortable. 

“Yes.” Tsukishima pulled Kuroo off of him, managing to stand up straight once again, averting his eyes from Daishou the best he could.

It was one of those situation where you could feel the tension in the room boiling up, it was like they were having a stare off. Was this really the guy used to date? Someone who was the completely opposite of Tsukishima’s personality, this guy was the embodiment of a snake, cunning and with a slight evil smirk.

“Hm.” Daishou seemed amused as he crossed his arms in from of his chest. “Kuroo and I used to date, you know? He seems to have changed quite a bit.” 

It was clear now this conversation had nothing to do with Kuroo, it was all about Daishou and Tsukishima. Daishou looked like he was analyzing Tsukishima, trying to figure out what he was going to say and how he was going to react, like he was trying to provoke him, but provoke him to do what exactly? Tsukishima could act anywhere from calm to angry right now, so what exactly did he want? 

“Well, that’s only natural if you haven’t seen each other in years.” Tsukishima tried his best to be logical right now, trying to figure out what this guy wanted, but he couldn’t. all he could do was tread lightly.

“I see you’re logical, and a bit of a smartass.” Daishou chuckled, as if he was amused again. “So this is what Kuroo’s into now?” Tsukishima couldn’t imagine how Kuroo even liked this guy to begin with, he was provoking, like Kuroo, but they were so different, Kuroo’s provoking was like teasing, just used for his own personal gain, but Daishou’s provoking was like he was being mean, like he was trying to get someone to react impulsively, do something they regret. 

“I don’t really think it’s a good idea to talk about the past like this. What’s done is done.” Fortunately for Tsukishima, he had had quite the experience in dealing with provoking people.

“Right you are, Tsukki, can I call you that?” He almost hummed happily at the end of his sentence, it was a hum that he had heard before, similar to the tone Kuroo used on the night they first met, almost like Daishou was taken aback by Tsukishima.

“Please don’t.” Tsukishima sighed in annoyance, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. They hadn’t even fallen down by this point, he just did it out of habit, out of a way to distract himself.

“I think you two have gotten acquainted enough.” Kuroo had a dark tone to his voice, like he was more annoyed than Tsukishima. “I just came over here to shake your hand before the match. Let’s go Tsukki.” As if he was in an urgent need to go somewhere, Kuroo placed his hands on Tsukishima’s shoulders, turning around and pushing him in the direction towards their teammates. Tsukishima thought about yelling out ‘Kuroo’, telling him to stop, but he decided not to, it was clear that they were both thrilled to get away from that guy.  
“Be careful, Kuroo, looks like you’ve got quite a catch there, it would be a shame for someone to steal him.” Daishou called in a snobby, yet almost friendly manner as they walked away from the snake-like man.

Tsukishima tilted his head back, looking at Kuroo as the two of them walked further and further away. For lack of a better word, today had been strange. Despite how hard Tsukishima tried, he couldn’t figure out what was up with that Daishou guy, he was Kuroo’s ex, and upon seeing him, Tsukishima immediately expected some weird, almost bragging about how well he knew Kuroo, but that wasn’t the case, he seemed more interesting in Tsukishima than in Kuroo, once he met him. And what was that talk of ‘stealing him?’. In the beginning of their relationship, Tsukishima found it hard to believe that Kuroo liked him at all, he thought he just wanted to sleep with him, so the odds of someone else even attempting to steal himself away from Kuroo were very slim. Tsukishima considered himself to be a rock with very emotion, so he would just have to stick with that.

“Don’t let him bother you, Tsukki, he’s always been a jerk.” Kuroo’s mood really did change, maybe it was just from Daishou coming face to face with Tsukishima, but that frazzled feeling from before went away, it was like Kuroo was back to being himself again, and that somehow relieved Tsukishima.

“I’m more amazed you dated someone like that.” Tsukishima went back to keeping his tone as bland as possible, they really should focus on the game now. It was like he showed enough emotion for the day. 

“Eh? What’s that supposed to mean, Tsukki? Are you jealous?” Kuroo teased him, stopping the both of them in place as he stepped in front of Tsukishima, that provoking smile as evident as always.

Why was it that when someone gets jealous in these kinds of situations it’s always seen as a good thing? It was like in romance shows, when one of the people gets jealous it’s suppose to show that they care, but can’t you show that you care in other ways? Tsukishima was not good with relationships, and he rarely got close to people, you could probably say that was his biggest downfall, but even he knew nothing good would come from being jealous in this situation.

“I have nothing to be jealous of. It only makes sense that you would have other boyfriends before me, and nothing good can come out of being jealous in this situation as it is.”  
Tsukishima walked past Kuroo, walking over to the bench and taking one final sip from his water bottle. He could feel Kuroo behind him, his eyes watching him with amusement, Tsukishima had to be logical about this. And plus, from the look on his face, Kuroo seemed far too interested in Tsukishima to be worrying about his ex. After today, Tsukishima probably wouldn’t see or hear his name again anyway.

They stood around with their various other teammates. Bokuto and Akaashi were sitting on the bench, their fingers intertwined as Bokuto whispered something to Akaashi. Maybe Tsukishima was just now desensitized from living with them, but they looked like the perfect couple right now. It almost seemed to make the mood surrounding the two of them perfect, peaceful, if only everything could be this quiet. You could hear the vague sounds of volleyballs hitting the floor from the other end of the room, and shoes squeaking as people did diving drills on the floor, and the almost overwhelming feeling of sweat as it dripped down Tsukishima’s forehead. He wasn’t tired by any means, but he was starting to feel that feeling you get when you work out and your bodies not used to it. He knew they were probably only going to play two or three matched, but he couldn’t quite decide if he was looking forward to it or not.

“Are the captain and his boyfriend fighting?” As if the once perfect feeling in the room faded away, Oikawa took a step closer, his voice slightly perky and annoying. Tsukishima figured he must have caught the end of his and Kuroo’s conversation.

“We’re not fighting.” Tsukishima scowled towards Oikawa’s direction, if Kuroo was provoking, then that guy was annoying. Why did he have to be on the same team as him again? He was right now half expecting Oikawa to start complaining about ‘not wanting to toss to Tsukishima’.

“Oikawa, please stop trying to pick fights with people right before a game.” Kuroo sighed, the look on his face made him resemble a mom who had to apologize for her unruly kid.  
“Tch.” As always, Oikawa cocked his head to the side, only stopping his childish attitude when Iwaizumi placed a hand on his shoulder, getting the ‘pretty-boy’ to smile and almost leap at the man with a blurted out ‘Iwa-chan!’, well, at least someone on this team knew how to deal with him.

Tsukishima didn’t care for Oikawa, that was an understatement, the two of them only interacted with each other when they were being snarky with one another. Maybe it was just his flamboyant personality, or the fact that he had a club that pretty much followed him around to all of his matches, but he was far too infuriating for a college kid.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed from behind him. “Don’t worry out there, just do what you did during practice and you’ll be fine.” Tsukishima thought briefly about how Kuroo was creepy when he was trying to be comforting, maybe it was just because his provoking face didn’t suit him when he got like this.

“Please don’t try to be comforting now, or I won’t kiss you later.” Tsukishima sighed. Things were getting far too comfortable with him and Kuroo, and he could feel all those red warning flags in his brain start to go off, but he still couldn’t help himself. Maybe he was just learning how to be provoking, or maybe he was changing, honestly, who knew by this point.

“Oh, does that mean you’ll kiss me later?” Kuroo smirked, you could tell that he was having far too much fun with his boyfriend now on his volleyball team. And somewhere deep on the inside, Tsukishima was too.

 

Tsukishima wasn’t sure what to make of this first match, with an actual ‘opponent’ team. They weren’t overly tall or overly strong, but they were good, solid. Maybe it just felt like him and Kuroo were fired up from getting into it with Daishou earlier, but he felt more alert than normal, the way he would throw his arms up to block the ball almost felt like it was systematic. It even gave him a weird satisfaction as he smirked almost every time he stopped a block.

“Nice block, Tsukki.” Kuroo could be heard cooing from the sidelines, as it was his time to be switched out with Nishinoya.

It was only the first set, but they were already in the lead by a substantial number of points. Or maybe their team was just that much in sink, with Oikawa’s killer serve and setting, and Bokuto’s powerful spiking, it made them a well rounded team.

“Bokuto!” Oikawa called as he set up a near perfect toss to Bokuto, he wasn’t as in sync with Bokuto as Akaashi was, but you could still tell how lively the spikes felt, hitting the palm of Bokuto’s hand perfectly, as the ball slid right between two blockers. You could see the look of disgruntled disappointed on their face as they failed again to stop another one of Bokuto’s spikes.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Akaashi, did you see that?!” Bokuto turned around, facing his boyfriend who was on the back line on. Like Tsukishima, Akaashi was one who normally didn’t show much emotion, but you could clearly see a slight smirk appear on his face as he gave a subtle nod to Bokuto. Of course, that made Bokuto even more fired up than he already was, grinning from ear to ear with his perfectly spiked up owl shaped hair.

“Nice kill!” Kuroo’s voice yelled again from the side lines one more time, causing Tsukishima to take notice of him once again. The way he leaned over, his hands resting on his knees as if he was concentrating, he really was a different person when he played volleyball, or watched volleyball.

Tsukishima brought his eyes forward again, looking at the people on the other side of the net, this time they rotated players, moving Daishou to the front line, he was a winged spiker after all. Tsukishima noted the sly grin on his face, making him look more snake-like, and as if he was observing people, observing him, it put him on edge. So much on edge in fact that he was forced to bring his attention to Oikawa, it was there turn to serve again, and he knew that with Daishou on the front line now, they were bound to do something. If anything, this would give him the perfect opportunity to see how this guy played.

“Oikawa.” Tsukishima somehow felt annoyed just by saying his name as he turned to him, but he still hadn’t gotten a chance to spike the ball at all, he wasn’t a spiker, maybe it was just because he was new and hadn’t had a chance to practice with him yet, but he felt like he had to do something.

Oikawa raised an eyebrow towards Tsukishima. Despite how much the two seemed to not get along, and like Kuroo, he did seem like a completely different person when he played, not letting emotions get in the way of his tosses.

“Will you send me a toss neck time?” Tsukishima wasn’t sure how he could go about explaining this to Oikawa, it had been years since he had been on volleyball team, but back in high school used to do feints a lot, so maybe trying them out here wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Maybe Tsukishima was just on edge from Daishou being here, he wasn’t jealous of him, but the guy didn’t exactly send off the most welcoming of vibes, let alone the fact that he was Kuroo’s ex didn’t make didn’t make him want to instantly be friends with him, not that Tsukishima was the kind to instantly become friends with anyone. Kuroo just sort of forced his way into Tsukishima’s life, and with that, so did Bokuto and Akaashi.

As if he was pondering, Oikawa resting his thumb and his index finger on his chin, curling them, closing his eyes as he did so. “Okay.” He voice was vague, and Tsukishima couldn’t tell if he was pissed off, in some kind of mood, or actually going to do it. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would something like throwing tosses to someone on purpose to harm the entire team, so what reason did Tsukishima have to not trust him right now?

The whistle blew from one of the people on the sidelines, signaling for Akaashi in the back to serve the ball again. Nobody was looking back at him, but you could hear the swift sound of the ball flying into the air, and then the sound of it hitting Akaashi’s hand as the ball flew high above everyone’s hand, going to the other side of the court.

Tsukishima didn’t know his name, but one of the members on the other teams back line saved the ball, letting it bounce up in the air until their setter lightly caught it in his hands, tossing it to one of the other members on the team. His form wasn’t as good as Akaashi’s or Oikawa, but he seemed like a guy that could get the job done.

“One touch!” Tsukishima yelled, jumping up against the ball as it hit his hand.

This time on their side of the net, Nishinoya picked up the ball, letting it almost effortlessly float into Oikawa’s hands as he tossed the ball to Tsukishima. It was a strange feeling, and you could hear the sudden gasps as if it was something his other teammates didn’t expect. Tsukishima had been observing both the people on his own team, and on the other team quite frequently since the match began, and he hadn’t noticed anyone on his team doing a feint yet, so he wasn’t quite sure how the other team would handle it.

He calmly let the ball rest snuggly in his palm for less than half a second, as he lightly tapped it, letting it barely hit the edge of the net before falling over and bouncing on the floor. It had very little force to it, like it was a flat basketball or an almost deflated balloon, it went up less than two inches off the ground before touching it again.

“Tsukki!” Kuroo called from the sidelines, causing Tsukishima to turn around, Kuroo had a proud look on his face, almost making Tsukishima feel embarrassed. “When I get back in I’m going to kiss you.” He cooed, even during a match, Kuroo never ceased to get Tsukishima to roll his eyes. Though, perhaps Tsukishima was happy about it and just didn’t want to admit it.

“Not bad.” That annoying, snake-like voice could be heard from the other side of the net, making Tsukishima turn around with almost disgust. He had thought it before, but this guy was definitely worse than Oikawa. “That was pretty impressive, Tsukki.”

“Please don’t call me that.” Tsukishima felt himself become annoyed from this guy even looking at him, like he just sort of wanted to leave right now. What was with this guy?

“Then what should I call you?” 

“I would prefer it if you didn’t call me anything, since this will mostly likely be the last time we see each other.” Tsukishima sighed, with any luck, maybe if he was cold enough this guy would leave him alone.

 

They won. It came as no surprise to Bokuto and Oikawa, as two boasted with over confidence to their boyfriends, Bokuto wrapping his arms around Akaashi and pulling him into a hug. It felt like both the first and second games came and went, with Tsukishima and the rest of his team winning by almost four points or more each time, maybe the other team was just out of practice, or with Bokuto’s strong arm and Oikawa’s tosses, they were a lot better than Tsukishima originally imagined. Tsukishima felt somehow pleased that he was able to score a handful of points for the team as well.

“Tsukki!” Kuroo called, walking over to his boyfriend over on the bench, the two of them grabbing their water bottles. The same look of pride was all over Kuroo’s face as he wrapped his arm his boyfriend. “You did so well today.”

“You said that during our practice and warm-ups earlier.”

“I know, but I didn’t know you knew how to do feints. What else can you do?” It made sense to Tsukishima that Kuroo didn’t know what moves he knew and didn’t know how to do, it even surprised Tsukishima that he remembered how to do a feint accurately. 

Tsukishima thought for a moment about what he should say, right now he could just be vague and say ‘I learned a few moves in high school’, and given how exhausted he felt, he thought about it, but since he was slightly thrilled that the match was now over, he figured he could do something else, something impulsive. 

“Well, I can do this.” Tsukishima wasn’t quite sure what came over him today, being with Kuroo, the match, hell, maybe it was just a cold, but he decided to place his lips onto the bedheads, surprising them both as Kuroo tightened his grip around Tsukishima.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo spoke again, softly, a smirk of satisfaction on his face as he adjusted himself, body now much more drenched with sweat than it was the last time Tsukishima touched him. “You didn’t forget what you promised me before the match, did you?” Kuroo was provoking him again, you could tell from the look on his face that he had several things on his mind, probably somehow all related to making out or sex. Tsukishima knew him pretty well by this point.

“I don’t think I could forget something like that.”

“Still as cold as ever, I see.” Kuroo smirked, letting his hands run up and down Tsukishima’s arms for a few seconds, slightly tickling the blonde as Kuroo hummed a comfortable sound of warmth against his boyfriend. It gave him the perfect distraction as he tried to rest his mind from all of the volleyball moves that were now cluttering his head.

“Kuroo. Tsukki.” And just as he started to relax, Tsukishima could feel that wave of annoyance come again as he scowled at the sound, he didn’t even need to look, he had heard that voice far too many times today. It was Daishou.

“You two played really well today.” He extended his hand, expecting Kuroo or Tsukishima to take it as the two of them left the comfort of each other.

“You’re still here? Isn’t your team leaving?” Tsukishima couldn’t help himself from being rude, getting a shocked reaction out of Kuroo, as he watched his boyfriend practically almost insult the snake-like man. Tsukishima didn’t know what kind of history him and Daishou had gone through, but regardless of that, he didn’t like him. He was being rude, but Tsukishima wasn’t really the kind of person who was nice most of the time. Hell, it amazed him how Kuroo put up with him for as often as he did.

“Well, I see you’re a cold one, Tsukki. I just came to say congratulations, but if you two would rather make out with each other, that’s fine by me. it was good seeing you again Kuroo, and you too Tsukki. I look forward to seeing you again soon.” His sentence almost had a creepy ring to it, the way he talked slow, like he was sending some kind of secret message as he walked away.

 

“When you two broke up, was it bad?” Tsukishima couldn’t help himself from prying once again, probably because this was the first time him and Kuroo had some alone time since the other team arrived here, and he still had so much to learn about his boyfriend.

“Sort of. The first relationship you’re in never ends in a good way.” Kuroo sighed as he gathered his bag off of the floor, not even bothering to change out of his jersey. 

Everyone else had just finished cleaning up, and the gym was once again as clean as it was when they first entered. It took several more minutes to clean up thanks to having twice as many people in the gym today. Tsukishima just sighed to himself and was happy it was all over, maybe it was just because he was exhausted from playing and meeting Kuroo’s ex (talk about luck), but he wanted to go home and take a nap.

Tsukishima couldn’t really say much to Kuroo right now, he was never really interested in relationships until he met Kuroo, so what would he know about messy relationship break ups? If anything, the last thing he wanted to do right now was think of breaking up.

“Not that you need to worry about that, Tsukki.” It was like Kuroo could read what he was thinking. “Right now you’re more important than he is.”

“I would think so, if not, that makes you a pretty shitty boyfriend.” Tsukishima chuckled, as snarky as ever. “Anyway, what do you want when we get home? I told you I would do something special for you.”

Kuroo smirked, almost as eager and excited as Bokuto gets when he’s around Akaashi. “Oh Tsukki, I have several ideas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a shorter chapter, I was kind of 'meh' while writing this chapter, but I still wanted to get one out this week for this story, so here it is. lol.


	13. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh yeah, I was going to ask you about Kuroo and Daishou after the match, but we never had a good time.” Tsukishima kept his words quieter than normal, the last thing he wanted right now was for Kuroo or Bokuto to wake up and walk in on their conversation.  
> '  
> “Daishou?” Yamaguchi asked curiously. Tsukishima almost felt bad because it was like Yamaguchi was living with them, but he was still out of the group, the only one, other than Kenma, who wasn’t on the volleyball team, and dint get to know about any of this. (Not to mention Kenma wasn’t exactly the type who would strike up a conversation with random people.)
> 
> “Kuroo’s ex. He was at the first practice match Tsukishima played in, if I heard correctly.” For the first time in a long time, they heard Kenma speak. His words calm like always, as his fingers continued to tap away at the game in his hands.

“Morning, Tsukki.”

“Morning, Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima sighed, walking into the kitchen on Monday morning, well, you couldn’t really call it morning if it was after ten, it was more like early afternoon by this point.

Tsukishima felt groggy, as he adjusted his glasses and made his way to the sink in the kitchen, by the looks of it, the only ones who were up were Yamaguchi, Kenma, Akaashi, and of course, himself. Kuroo and Bokuto were usually the type who didn’t get up before noon as it was, and the condo was so quiet that you could practically hear Kuroo lightly snoring from one of the bedrooms. They didn’t sleep together last night, mainly because Tsukishima had to study, and he knew that if he let Kuroo into his room, that the only ‘studying’ he would do wouldn’t involve textbooks. Tsukishima had a test in one of his classes in the afternoon, and he wanted to be prepared.

Right now, Tsukishima was turning on the morning coffee making, pouring a glass of water into it as he waited for the machine to make him something before headed off to work, he had early shift today and would be going to school in the afternoon. He felt more interested in going today than he should, maybe it was just because he hadn’t been there in so long and it would be nice to make some money, or maybe it was because he was so eager to smell the scent of waffles again, no, it probably wasn’t that one.

You could hear the various sounds of Kenma’s fingers blasting away on whatever handheld gaming device he had as he leaned against the far wall in the kitchen, all while Akaashi stirred something in a pot over the stove, most likely, breakfast, or maybe more ramen because Tsukishima quickly learned that was all Bokuto really liked to eat. Yamaguchi was there too, he stood next to Akaashi, asking him if there was anything he could help with.

“Are you going to work today, Tsukki?” Yamaguchi smiled at his best friend as Tsukishima took a sip of his coffee, it was bitter, like always, but it was just the right amount of bitter to wake you up, give you the small boost of energy you needed to stay awake through the day. Though, it did taste better than anything they served at the waffle house, mainly because Bokuto probably splurged for the higher priced, imported stuff whenever he went out shopping, sometimes how impulsive he is was a good thing.

“I have an early shift and then I have classes in the afternoon.” Tsukishima kept his tone in his usual bland voice, this time just from the sheer fact of it just being morning. “If Kuroo wakes up after I leave, tell him I’ll be back later.” Tsukishima took another sip, it almost alarmed him in the back of his mind how willing he was to think of Kuroo, ever since they started living together and seeing each other more and more, Tsukishima became increasingly aware of just how much Kuroo was on his mind. It almost frightened him, he was normally not concerned with anything before, but now here he was making sure Kuroo knew he just went to work and school.

“Got it, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi beamed, a look of enthusiasm on his face as he clenched his fists in his hands, as if he was excited or determined about something. “I’m so happy for you, Tsukki.”

“Huh?” Tsukishima scowled for the first time this morning, his tone harsh and cold, like usual as he tried to figure out what his best friend was talking about. Happy for what? What had Tsukishima done exactly to be happy about? As far as he was concerned, his life was just as normal as it had ever been.

“About Kuroo.” Yamaguchi smiled again, probably realizing that Tsukishima still wasn’t able to pick up on the obvious hints of relationships and romance. “You normally don’t trust people, or get close to anyone, so seeing you worry about Kuroo is kind of refreshing.” Yamaguchi in a slightly awkward way, placed his hand on the side of his face, as his he was scratching his cheek.

“What are you talking about? All I did was ask if you could make sure he knows I left before him this morning.” Tsukishima shrugged and sighed, Yamaguchi sure did love to play the wingman in these sorts of situations. Though, he knew he wasn’t entirely wrong.

Outside of Yamaguchi, Tsukishima didn’t trust or get close to anyone, and the only reason he probably even trusts Yamaguchi is because he practically forced himself into Tsukishima’s life when they were little kids, if that sort of thing tried to happen when he was older, well, it wouldn’t have. But trusting Kuroo. Did Tsukishima trust Kuroo? They had spent how much time together by this point, more than enough to learn multiple things about each other, and Tsukishima felt more than comfortable around Kuroo by this point, but trust? What did it exactly mean to trust someone?

“But still, you normally wouldn’t be so concered with someone like that before. I’m happy you finally have some friends.” Yamaguchi chuckled, his face turning a bright shade of red as if he was embarrassed.

“Are you my mother?” In Tsukishima’s eyes, that’s what Yamaguchi looked like right now, like a doting parent who was proud of their son for reaching and making friends. He was clearly making too much of a big deal out of this, plus, aren’t you supposed to be somewhat concerned about the other person when you’re dating them?

“I actually wanted to talk to you about what we talked about the other week.” Akaashi spoke softly as he sprinkled some seasoning into whatever he was making on the stove. He didn’t turn around or show much emotion in his voice, but Tsukishima knew instantly what he was talking about.

It had been a few weeks or more since the first practice match he took part in with the volleyball team, and things, as far as Tsukishima were concerned, were going well. Tournament season was going to be starting up in the next month or so, and Kuroo was doing his best as captain to get every pumped up for that. Tsukishima already knew that the team was good, and the practice matches they played against other schools seemed like almost easy victories for them, and on top of all that, the rest of the team seemed to be just as enthusiastic about it as Kuroo was. And to make things even better, ever since that day both Tsukishima and Kuroo had never seen or heard the name Daishou again, it was almost like him and Kuroo didn’t even talk about it, not that he wanted to. Kuroo told him it was back in high school, so that had to have at least been three to four years ago, and if Kuroo was over it, there was no point in bringing up the past. It would be like if Kuroo wanted to talk about the time Tsukishima had sex with Yamaguchi, it was in the past and there was no point to it anymore.

But despite all that, Tsukishima couldn’t help his curiosity, and if Akaashi wanted to bring it up when it had been a few weeks, he must have had a good reason for it.

“Oh yeah, I was going to ask you about Kuroo and Daishou after the match, but we never had a good time.” Tsukishima kept his words quieter than normal, the last thing he wanted right now was for Kuroo or Bokuto to wake up and walk in on their conversation.

“Daishou?” Yamaguchi asked curiously. Tsukishima almost felt bad because it was like Yamaguchi was living with them, but he was still out of the group, the only one, other than Kenma, who wasn’t on the volleyball team, and dint get to know about any of this. (Not to mention Kenma wasn’t exactly the type who would strike up a conversation with random people.)

“Kuroo’s ex. He was at the first practice match Tsukishima played in, if I heard correctly.” For the first time in a long time, they heard Kenma speak. His words calm like always, as his fingers continued to tap away at the game in his hands.

“Funny. You rarely leave your room, and yet you’re just as bad as gossip as Bokuto is.” Akaashi turned his head slightly, looking at Kenma who was still next to the wall, it was almost like he was teasing him.

“Always watching. Always listening.” It was like Kenma was reading off a quote from a video game or something, the way he everything sound like it came from an old textbook whenever he spoke. “Also, you’re forgetting that I was there when Kuroo and Daishou were together.” That was probably true, Akaashi did mention that what he learned about Daishou he learned from talking to Kenma. He didn’t say much, but Tsukishima was starting to get the feeling that Kenma knew all kinds of information.

“What’s this Daishou person like?” Yamaguchi asked, trying so hard to be included into the conversation. Tsukishima sort of felt bad, he was his best friend, but he had been so busy with volleyball, work, school, and Kuroo that he hadn’t made time to even talk to his best friend. Though, most of the time it was Yamaguchi that he the talking, but he knew that Yamaguchi would be more than curious to know what was happening in his life right now.

“He’s a lot more like Kuroo than you would think, they’re both very provoking, except Daishou has more of a cunning, slimy feel to him.” Tsukishima tried to remember what Daishou was like exactly, all he could really remember was the almost snake-like grin he had on his face, and how strange Tsukishima felt around him. That whole day was strange. It was like as soon as Daishou met Tsukishima, he immediately forgot about Kuroo, which is what weirded him out the most of all.

“Honestly, those two are too much alike.” Akaashi spoke again, voice still calm as he stirred the pot. “They’re probably more suited to be brothers who don’t get along instead of lovers, right Kenma?”

“Yeah, they’ve always been alike.” Kenma didn’t even bring his eyes up away from his game as he spoke. “Back in high school they both had the same tastes, liked the same sports, the same shows, the same movies, even had the same tastes in people. I think that’s why they started dating to begin with, they had so much in common, they thought ‘why not?’”  
“The relationship didn’t end well, did it?” It almost felt like Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were by standards in this conversation, only listening as Akaashi and Kenma went on about Kuroo’s past. 

It made Tsukishima feel slightly weird, talking about his boyfriend when he wasn’t in the room like this, they weren’t saying anything bad about him, but still. You could tell from the look of astonishment on Yamaguchi’s face that there was several bits and pieces of information that he didn’t know about it. Tsukishima thought about bringing him up to speed on all of this, but decided not to at the last minute, probably out of slight paranoia that it would make this, what was supposed to be a short conversation, a lot longer. He didn’t exactly want to leave any room for Kuroo to walk in on them, even if he was always really grumpy whenever he first got up.

“No, it didn’t.” Kenma spoke again, this time he sounded like he was reading facts from a book, like he was disinterested in everything that was going on at the moment. “After a while they just started to fight all the time, they grew more distant from each other and Kuroo started skipping classes. As I’m sure you know by now, Daishou’s pretty cunning and wants everyone around him who isn’t benefitting him to suffer. Then one day, Kuroo met someone else, someone who made him happy, it was more of a friendship thing than anything else, but when Daishou found out, it was over. He slept with him to piss Kuroo off, and it worked. Kuroo almost didn’t pass high school because of it. And ever since then he stopped dating people, it was usually just a one-night-stand thing, until he met Tsukishima.”

So that explains it. Tsukishima thought to himself, it seems Kuroo’s past had a bit more mystery to it than he originally thought. But seriously, talk about a fucked up relationship, no wonder Kuroo was the way that he was. What kind of person sleeps with someone just to piss them off, anyway? Tsukishima wasn’t violent, but he was always used to being annoyed, but this, this was a new feeling, something he knew he needed to keep bottled up as he tried to gather his thought again. Fuck.

“He said it better than I could have.” Akaashi sighed, messing with some settings on the stove as he turned his back to them. Tsukishima still couldn’t process his thoughts, and he knew anything that he was going to say right now would probably be some form of ‘I knew I didn’t like that guy’. Which, in his mind made him sound more petty and jealous than anything else, and that was a part of this conversation that Tsukishima wanted to avoid.

“So, is Daishou the kind of person where if the person he likes can’t be happy with him, then he would rather them not be happy at all? Be careful, Tsukki!” As if Yamaguchi just started picking up on the conversation, he yelled frantically, almost as if he was concerned for Tsukishima’s life. It almost made him laugh, Yamaguchi always did have a habit of overreacting to things. But, with the conversation that just happened, Tsukishima would be lying if he said it wasn’t bothering him.

“Not exactly. If he likes the person it has nothing to do with it, if he sees someone who is happier than him, then he wants to destroy it. I don’t think he likes Kuroo anymore, so you don’t have to worry about that, but I just think it pissed him off to see that Kuroo is happier than he is now. Also, him and Kuroo have similar tastes, so keep that in mind.”  
Tsukishima understood immediately what Kenma was implying, that Daishou might have a thing for Tsukishima. Wait, what?

Tsukishima felt dumbfounded as he placed his hand on his forehead, in somewhat disbelief. Is that what all that was about at the practice match? No, there’s no way. Who would even like Tsukishima in that way, Kuroo was a special case, but outside of that, Tsukishima even found himself hard to get along with at times, there was no way that someone else liked him.

Almost as if he was in a slight panic, like he just found out he said something impulsive, Tsukishima needed to get some clarification on this, something to put his mind at peace before he went off to work.

“Are you saying-“

“-Good morning, everyone!” As just as he was about to ask him, in strolls Bokuto, a smile planted on his face as he looped an arm around Akaashi from behind. He seemed to be in a good mood today, singing and swinging his arms from side to side as he almost pranced through the kitchen. And that would end the conversation they were just having.

“You seem to be in a good mood today, Bokuto.” Yamaguchi smiled at him pleasantly, the two of them had a strange wingman friendship going on. 

Tsukishima remembered that when they first moved in here that the two of them would constantly try to get Kuroo and Tsukishima to be alone together, insisting that they were only trying to get them to ‘learn more about each other’, but it was completely obvious what they were doing, they wanted to get them to be alone together and make out, anything so that Kuroo and Tsukishima could be together. Those two really were a powerful force, a powerful force of wingmen. Looking at them now, their friendship seemed so unlikely, Bokuto looks like he could snap Yamaguchi like a twig without even having to try.

“I had a great dream last night!” Bokuto boasted, planting a gentle kiss on Akaashi’s cheek. On the surface it looked like it didn’t get any sort of reaction out of him, but Tsukishima had been with them long enough to know that that subtle way the corners of Akaashi’s lips turned up meant he was happy. “I dreamt that Akaashi and I were, well, I can’t really say what it was. But just know that it was good.”

“I’m heading off to work.” As if Tsukishima took that his cue to leave, he knew there would be no stopping Bokuto once he got on a roll, and it would be even worse when Kuroo woke up, not that he was avoiding Kuroo or anything, though, he knew it was probably best to try to clear his head of all of this new information he learnt today.

“Tsukki, you’re leaving already?” As if Bokuto was disappointed, his voice had a high-pitched whining noise in it.

“I’ll get there early, maybe I’ll put in some overtime or something. Don’t forget to tell Kuroo that I’m gone.” Tsukishima made his way towards the door.

“I’ll give him a kiss for you.” Bokuto called, Tsukishima could see out of the corner of his eye that he was waving at him.

“Please don’t.”

 

Where did Tsukishima even begin to start when it came to clearing his head? He want upset or pissed off about anything, but something was bothering him. Was it that he technically talked about Kuroo behind his back? No, that wasn’t it. Maybe it was just that Kuroo wasn’t there to tell them the information himself, or maybe that Kuroo didn’t seem to care about the information. No, that wasn’t it either. So what was it?

‘I’m so happy you’ve been trusting people, Tsukki.’ As if he heard a voice in his head, he knew the answer. Trust.

Well, he must have trusted him to some extent or he wouldn’t have done and said half of things to him that he did. But what did it exactly mean to trust someone? The only person he would say that he truly trusted was Yamaguchi, but even then, that was a bit of a stretch. To trust someone is pretty much to have full faith in them, trust them with your life, right? Tsukishima was still new to all of this. In what felt like a short few months, he was thrust into a new world of new feelings and emotions, and it was all thanks to Kuroo.

‘Love and trust are the same thing’. There was that voice in his head again, as he opened the door to the waffle house, causing him to freeze in place. Love? Did he love Kuroo? It had only been a few months and it was hard to tell, and on top of that, how could you know if you love someone if you’ve never had this kind of feeling before. No, no way. If anything, Kuroo was just his boyfriend that he really, really cared for. Yeah, that was it.

“Tsukishima! Thank god you’re here!” Not even before he got his foot in the door, there was Hinata, as annoying as ever, and it looked like he was getting ready to hammer Tsukishima with questions. Maybe coming in early wasn’t such a good idea, he really wasn’t in the mood for this right now. The library at the school would have been better, quieter, a place where he could think.

“What is it, Hinata? I know we’re not swamped at this time of day.” This may have been a waffle house, but they were never usually busy during typical breakfast or brunch hours. They were used to getting two or three customers tops every hour or so. This was probably one of the more empty places in the entire town.

“A customer just walked into your section, and I didn’t want to make him wait-“

“-You mean you didn’t want to stop talking to Kageyama to help him.” Tsukishima sighed, it looks like today both Hinata and Kageyama were working with him, great, as if this day couldn’t get any more annoying. Those two were literally hopeless. Tsukishima was pretty sure they were dating, or at least fucking, whenever he worked with them those two never seemed to shut up, and Kageyama was a terrible cook, which meant trying to talk the customers into order something that couldn’t be destroyed by his lack of cooking skills. It was going to be a long time.

Tsukishima ignored whatever grunted protest Hinata had for him, and made his way to the table where the person was sitting. He couldn’t get a good look at the person at all from the back, just dark hair that looked like it was combed over to one side. Tsukishima found it to be almost a relief to be at a place that smelled of waffles and syrup instead of hair product, mainly Bokuto’s hair product. The person, who was clearly a boy, sat at a table in the very back, facing the window that lined the back wall. Looking at the vague reflection he could see in the mirror, Tsukishima could tell he was someone probably in their early twenties, maybe a college kid? Tsukishima thought as he walked closer. It was like he was looking at his own reflection in the window, no, it was like he was looking at everything else, using the window almost as a mirror to see who was coming, and what was happening around him.

“Hello, my name is Tsukishima, what can I get for you today?” Tsukishima faked as much enthusiasm as his body was willing right now, which wasn’t much, he knew that he probably came off sounded like a prick. Waiters are supposed to be happy and chipper, it’s how they get more tips, but Tsukishima wasn’t having any of that this morning.

“Yes, I’ll take some coffee, black, with some waffles, a muffin, oh, and a date with you.”

“What?” As if Tsukishima was having flashbacks to the day he first met Kuroo, he forced his eyes opened, forced himself to focus on the person in front of him, and it definitely wasn’t Kuroo. It had been awhile, but Tsukishima did recognize the hair and that snake-like grin, not to mention that tone of pure cunning in his voice. It was Daishou.

Tsukishima’s first reaction was to ask him what he was doing here, but stopped himself because he knew that would be rather rude, this was a public restaurant after all. But seriously, was this planned? Or just a series of coincidences? What are the odds?

As if Tsukishima forced himself to remember everything Akaashi and Kenma told him this morning about this man, he knew that he couldn’t let his guard down around him, that was for sure. What was with this guy, seriously? Tsukishima could feel himself grow annoying, forcing himself to listen to what he had to say, almost burning a hole in his notebook as he gripped his pen tightly.

“You know, I’ve been thinking ever since I met you, but I think you’re too good for Kuroo, he doesn’t deserve someone like you.” 

“And what would you know about Kuroo?” Tsukishima scowled, trying to keep his voice down, it was clear that this guy wasn’t doing anything to help his mood.

“Tsukki, you should know I dated Kuroo, I think I know him pretty well.” He had an almost pleasant sound to his voice, one that Tsukishima recognized as a provoking tone, the way he lightly traced his fingers along the smooth surface of the table was clear that he was distracting Tsukishima, trying to get him to fluster his words. “He’ll grow distant and mess things up, he always will.” Daishou had a cold tone in his voice, bland, like he was emotionless, or a robot. It made Tsukishima slightly alarmed, like the red flags in his head were going off. 

In his mind, he told himself to just shut up, this conversation could be over if he just walked back to the kitchen and handed the paper to Kageyama, but he couldn’t bring himself to.  
Other than Daishou and himself, the entire restaurant was empty surrounding them, giving them as long as they wanted to talk, not that he wanted to. He wanted to get as far away from this guy as possible, run far away, run back to the condo. Why did he have to show up now of all times? And what did he even mean, growing distant. Tsukishima knew that he was starting to know Kuroo pretty well, and from what he had seen, Kuroo was anything but distant, more like persistent. So persistent that he was annoying sometimes.

But, as if Tsukishima couldn’t keep himself from prying, it was so unlike him that it was scary, and he could feel himself start to scowl and click his tongue out of just reaction, but part of him just couldn’t help it. What did he really know?

“Well, I think you’ll find that Kuroo has changed a lot since you last saw him.” It pissed Tsukishima off, it was one thing to just ask a bunch of annoying questions, but it was something entirely different to treat him as if he didn’t know Kuroo at all. They had been going out for more than a month or two by this point, living together, sleeping together, playing on the same team, and having classes together. Like hell this guy knew Kuroo better than he did. Though, he wouldn’t let this guy see how angry he was, Tsukishima needed to remain calm, he had always prided himself on how calm he could be. “I’ll go get your food.”

Tsukishima didn’t turn back around, it was almost like he was doing a sprint, or a brisk walk as he made his way back into the kitchen, ripping the paper out of his notebook and sliding it across the counter in front of the kitchen to Kageyama. Tsukishima could already clearly see in what direction today was heading, and right now, dealing with the simpletons, as he called them, was nothing compared to that.

Looking back behind the kitchen counter, he could see what looked like burnt toast and burnt waffles sitting on a plastic tray in front of the trash can. Did he try to make himself something to eat and just fail miserably? Tsukishima found himself asking this question every time he worked the same shift as this guy, but how did he even get hired as a cook? Whatever, it’s not like it bothered Tsukishima one way or another, if anything, maybe if this Daishou eats some badly cooked eggs, then he’ll leave him alone. They say Kageyama’s terrible cooking has power over people, mainly the power to make them sick, maybe it has the power to make people leave too.

“Huh? Can Kageyama cook all of his this?” As if he was in disbelief, Hinata stood on his tip-toes and peered over the counter, he was barely tall enough to even see over it, and looked at the paper Tsukishima laid there. 

Tsukishima did always have really neat hand writing, and working at a waffle house only seemed to make that all the more clear. He remembered whenever he worked the same shift as Tanaka, he would always say Tsukishima was the best waiter because he had the easiest to read hand writing. Though, combining that with Tsukishima’s less than passionate personality, probably evened out in the end.

“Well he’s going to have to.” Tsukishima scowled, crossing his arms as he watched Kageyama take the paper, eyeing it over for a few seconds before walking to the back of the kitchen and turning on one of the stoves. Let’s hope this place has good insurance.

“Hinata, you dumbass, I can cook anything!” A grumbled voice could be heard coming from Kageyama in the kitchen. As long as Tsukishima had been working with him, he always seemed kind of angry and serious.

“Yes, but can you cook it and make it edible?”

“Shut up!” Hinata and Kageyama went back and forth for a few minutes, Kageyama turning around to yell at him from the kitchen. Ugh, why did Tsukishima have to work with them right now? He could already feel his headache coming on.

“Can you guys please be quiet?” Tsukishima didn’t even know why he bothered to try right now, and he was pretty sure that Daishou could hear their arguing from the other side of the restaurant. 

Not that he cared, he just wanted the guy to leave, and to never come back, he had done enough messing around in Tsukishima’s life. He could now see why Kuroo called him ‘snake-like’ so much, he really was a snake, and not just with the way he smiled, his entire personality was a snake, talking as if he knew Kuroo so well, what did he know really? Tsukishima was sure that if there was anything for him to worry about, that Akaashi or Kenma would have spoken up by now, as far as he was concerned, Kuroo and him were having a perfectly healthy relationship.

 

Some time passed, as Tsukishima leaned up against the wall of the restaurant, right next to the counter, he was forced to listen to the various bickering’s of Hinata and Kageyama, as Hinata constantly decided to critique the food, which Kageyama had to cook more than once, since the first one came out completely burnt and inedible. Right now, Hinata was teasing him, saying something about ‘it’s so funny that you can’t cook anything, even though you are a chef’, which ended with Kageyama throwing a spatula in his direction. It made a ‘ding’ sound as it went right over his head, hitting against the wall.

“Is it done yet?” Tsukishima felt annoyed even asking that as he turned his head, eyeing Kageyama from across the counter as he raised an eyebrow. Tsukishima was well aware that this restaurant didn’t get as many customers as it used to several years ago, and that Kageyama and Hinata were always yelling or goofing off with each other, but it felt like it was taking a lot longer than usual, then again, maybe it just felt that way.

As Tsukishima lifted his head up and looked at the clock on the far wall, he realized that time was just going that much slower today. For what felt like a solid twenty minutes, turned out only to be half that, and his shift had barely started. Great. Tsukishima could already feel his annoyance getting worse and worse by the minute.

“Fine! Here!” Kageyama sounded just as annoyed as Tsukishima, probably from either Hinata or from having to cook the food more than once, shoving a plate across the counter. 

Tsukishima looked at it, he had already brought out the coffee to Daishou, quickly taking the cup and the pot out to him and refusing to make eye contact with the guy as he did so. The food on the plate looked ‘edible’ at best, it wouldn’t kill him, and probably wouldn’t make him sick, hopefully. Though, he would be lying if he said hadn’t a fair share of people look like they were about to pass out and puke from eating Kageyama’s cooking before. You could see that the bottom and the edges of the muffin and the waffles weren’t burnt. Tsukishima guessed by looking at it that it would probably taste somewhere between a lightly crisp burn to something that would barely be edible, hopefully, it would be the former, the last thing Tsukishima wanted right now was to have to talk to this guy longer than he needed to. By this point he just wanted to give him the food, collect his tip, and go home.  
The edges of the plate were still hot, Tsukishima kept that in mind as he walked out into the dining area and slid the plate to where Daishou was sitting. He was already mentally preparing himself for some sort of conversation that the snake man would probably strike up. The smell of the coffee overpowered what burnt smell was probably coming from the food on the plate right.

“Do you need anything else?” Tsukishima hated asking that, if he had his way, he would have just left the food and walked away, going back to dealing with whatever yelling Kageyama and Hinata were doing in the kitchen. But he couldn’t, it was a part of the waiter training that you had to be attentive to the customer. If Daishou wanted something, then Tsukishima had to give it to him, well, as long as it was food or coffee related anyways.

“Your number.” Daishou smirked, grabbing a fork and knife from the silverware set on the table and proceeded to cut his waffles as he eyed Tsukishima.

“No.” Almost as if he was disgusted, Tsukishima scowled, remembering to keep his voice down. He wanted to yell, to tell him to ‘fuck off’ but he couldn’t, all he could do was retort and hope that he would just give up. He never even gave Kuroo his number, the only way he got it was because Bokuto and Yamaguchi were dead set on being wingmen that they just gave Tsukishima’s number to Kuroo.

“Come on, Tsukki, you’ll probably grow tired of Kuroo real soon, you don’t even know him, believe me, I know, he doesn’t have many talents outside of provoking people and volleyball. I think you could have a lot more fun with me.” Tsukishima could tell what he was getting at, that ambiguous flirty tone in his voice as he made sure to slowly cut into the waffles. He used a lot of the same moves that Kuroo did when it came to flirty, but there was something different about Daishou, he wasn’t as charismatic as Kuroo was, or at least, it didn’t come off that way to Tsukishima. It sounded more like someone who was trying to creepily hit on someone at a club, though, if you take out the club part, that was pretty much what he was doing.

“I think you’re the one who doesn’t know Kuroo, or me for that matter.” There was a certain coldness in Tsukishima’s voice, and it was one that he knew Daishou was hearing for the first time. 

He had a surprised look in his eyes, as if he didn’t know that Tsukishima could be this cold. It was a look that Tsukishima was used to, nearly everyone he had ever used that tone on gave him a similar look, one that said they were shocked and somewhat disappointed to hear that coming out of someone like him. That always bothered Tsukishima, what were they expecting exactly? It’s not like Tsukishima was one to smile very often, and nothing about him seemed to scream ‘I’m not a cold and bitter person’, so what did they have to be so surprised about?

“Anyway.” Tsukishima sighed, continuing. “If you don’t need anything else food or coffee related, then I’ll be going now.”

“Tsukki!” He hated hearing that voice come out of his mouth, it was like it was an insult to Kuroo, who made it sound so pretty as his lips hung on to every syllable as he spoke it. Looking at him now, it looked like he was about to jump up from the table, Tsukishima guessed that he was probably the type who wasn’t told no very much in his life, and it looked like he was going to reach out and grab Tsukishima’s hand. That is, until the glare from Tsukishima stopped him right in place. “Try not to forget about me, I think we’ll be seeing each other a lot in the coming days.”

As if he said it just to annoy Tsukishima, it sent a chill down his spine, a different chill than when he was with Kuroo, this was more like the kind of creep chill you get when you go into a haunted house or see a scary movie.

Tsukishima clicked his tongue, it was his own way of asking him ‘you done?’ as he turned his back to him. He wanted to just leave and go home right now, he wasn’t worried for Kuroo or anything, if anything, he was not taking anything this guy said seriously. If he had anything to worry about he would have already sensed it in Kuroo, or Akaashi or Kenma would have told him by now. Daishou was just annoying, probably looking to start drama and get laid, nothing more about it. Tsukishima had seen many college guys act the way he did, so this attitude came as no surprise to him. This just made further appreciate Kuroo not acting like ‘that’.

Tsukishima couldn’t really retort back at the guy with anything other than a vague response, not that he wanted to carry on a conversation with him anyways. Somehow, this guy made him appreciate Kuroo, so much so that all he wanted to do was go back to the condo and see his sleepy face and his terrible bed hair. 

“Whatever. Just enjoy your meal.”

Thinking about what he was thinking about earlier, did he trust Kuroo? Probably. And did he love him? Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to learn a little more about Kuroo, and I finally wrote a chapter where Kenma says more than two words, haha. Next chapter will probably be a lot more story and plot. Also, I have been trying to update this story weekly, but I do start midterms next week, so I might not be able to get a chapter out next week, but I'm going to try to. :)


	14. Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I actually came to invite you to something.” Kuroo smirked, like always. It was almost weird, they had been dating for what felt like more than a few months now, but yet Kuroo still treated it as if he was trying to get Tsukishima to go out with him. Was this what you call never losing that romantic spark?
> 
> “Invite me to what?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at Kuroo. His mind already assumed it was some kind of matter, what else do you exactly invite someone to?
> 
> “We’re having a little party tonight to celebrate you joining the volleyball team. Well, it’s not so much a party as it’s the members of the volleyball team are all going to a club downtown tonight, and we’re using you as an excuse to not just say we’re going to get totally wasted for no reason.” Kuroo laughed, almost as if it were a joke, and it sort of was. As if a bunch of college kids actually needed an excuse to get wasted. Bokuto could practically get wasted on his own as is.

“You’re not going to tell him?” Yamaguchi looked almost curiously at Tsukishima as the two of them sat on the beds in Yamaguchi’s room.

It was one of the few times Tsukishima had been in here since they had moved in to Bokuto’s condo what seemed like forever ago. It basically looked like a bigger, somehow messier version of their old dorm room, papers scattered everywhere, books and various homework assignments scattered all over the floor, it was amazing that Yamaguchi could even see to navigate to get around this place. 

It was all the same though, or at least, it felt the same to Tsukishima. Looking at his best friend who was sitting up on his bed on the right side of the room. It was for one of their weekly study sessions that they had, it was almost hard to maintain it now with Tsukishima’s busy schedule, but he still made time. Most of the time they had to do it in the library, since it was almost impossible to get some peace and quiet with Bokuto and Kuroo around. How were those two passing their classes again? But still, here they were.

Yamaguchi had started the day off with his usual ‘how’s life?’ questions. Tsukishima was used to it, not that his life was very exciting; it was school, work (sometimes), and then volleyball, that was it. Of course, living with Kuroo ensured to make his life interesting when he was back at the condo, but other than that, Tsukishima had always been the epitome of the normal, boring college kid. Yamaguchi knew that but he still pried, he pried so much that Tsukishima let it slip out that he saw Daishou the other day during his shift at the waffle house. He didn’t mean to, he had no intention of telling anyone about it, even Kuroo, but it was just some casual information that slipped out, which he soon regretted.

Of course, that immediately led to Yamaguchi yelled a loud ‘what?!’ as he demanded to know the details, Tsukishima was positive that almost everyone in the entire condo heard it, and now Tsukishima had no choice but to tell him. What had he gotten himself into today? He wanted to study, not get a lecture from his best friend.

“I don’t have a reason to tell him. Nothing happened, he was just a customer.” Tsukishima laid down on the empty bed in Yamaguchi’s room. 

He never even thought about telling Kuroo what happened, not out of fear or anything, he was sure Kuroo trusted him and that he trusted Kuroo, but mainly because it sounded so bizarre. And not to mention, the way Daishou made it sound like he was almost pining after Tsukishima didn’t help to add to how weird it all felt. As far as he was concerned, Daishou was just another customer.

“He was more than just a customer, Tsukki! He was your boyfriends’ ex, and more importantly, he was hitting on you! That’s something majorly important!” Yamaguchi sounded frantic, like always, like someone just told him the end of the world was near, as he shook his fists in the air, as if he was demanding something.

Tsukishima sighed, he could already feel his first headache of the day coming on. “Kuroo’s attractive, he probably gets hit on all the time at school, this isn’t really any different than that. And plus, even if I wanted to tell him how would I even go about telling him? Saying that his ex just so happened to come into the restaurant that I work at sounds more suspicious than anything else. And if I did tell him, what would he do about it anyway? It’s not like you can ban someone from going into a restaurant, and it wasn’t as if I couldn’t serve him.”

“You’re always so logical, Tsukki. But I think you should at least mention it to him.” Yamaguchi’s voice had that same pleasant ring to it, the way he smiled at Tsukishima as the two of them looked at each other from across the room.

His best friend may have had a point, but he had no reason to tell Kuroo, other than just making small conversation, it was probably just a string of coincidences anyway, the odds of him seeing Daishou again were very low. So, in Tsukishima’s mind, he had nothing to worry about. Kuroo wasn’t like at all what Daishou told him about. If anything, Kuroo was almost clingy – in a good way and cute way. Cute? Tsukishima almost laughed to himself, that probably wasn’t a word that would be used to describe someone like Kuroo very often.

“I just don’t think-“ Tsukishima began, as bland as ever, maybe he just felt more clam today than usual, but he couldn’t bother himself to be worried about something like this right now. Plus, Tsukishima knew he was stubborn enough to avoid Daishou any second he could from now on.

“-What are my two favorite cats chatting about?” Kuroo poked his head in through the open door. Yamaguchi was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a snitch, just a really pushy wingman and best friend.

Kuroo placed one of his hands on the frame of the door as he leaned in, getting the both of them to quiet their conversation as they returned to looking at their books. Tsukishima couldn’t even remember what he was studying right now, psychology? Yeah, that sounded about right as he looked down at his open textbook, trying to throw any thoughts out of his mind. It wasn’t like he had anything to hide at the moment.

He ran his finger over top of the words in his book, it was probably a good idea to get a head start on the next chapter, he acted like he wasn’t paying that much attention, but Tsukishima’s lightly looked up at his boyfriend, standing in the doorway. Kuroo looked like he just got back from the afternoon jog he always went on, his hair just as messy as ever. It was an afternoon jog because Kuroo rarely got up early enough to go on a ‘morning’ jog. He offered multiple times for Tsukishima to join him, but Tsukishima wasn’t exactly someone who was up for running. That didn’t stop him from staring though. Kuroo had a little bit of sweat still dripping from his brows, and his muscles tightly surrounding the black t-shirt and red shorts he decided to wear today.

“Did you need something?” Tsukishima asked causally. He could see a questionable look from Yamaguchi on the other side of the room, probably thinking ‘Tsukki, why don’t you use more of a loving tone when talking to your boyfriend’. 

He was probably right about that, most people wouldn’t have probably known that the two of them were dating, if it wasn’t for the constant making out that happened whenever the two of them were alone. On some days Tsukishima thought that maybe he should be nicer to Kuroo, or well, at least sound nicer, he wasn’t mean, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Maybe it was just because that would feel so out of place for him, but being cold and stubborn was his personality by this point, Kuroo knew that, and for the most part, Tsukishima accepted it. If Kuroo wanted him to be not as cold, all he would have to do is ask Tsukishima and he would seriously consider it.

“As cold as ever, aren’t we, Tsukki?” Kuroo teased, taking his hand off the door and crossing his arms as he eyes Tsukishima, he had that same provoking smirk on his face, though, this time it was a cross between a smirk and a smile. Tsukishima had noticed recently that Kuroo had been smiling a lot more. maybe he was just imagining it though. Wishful thinking.

“I actually came to steal you away for a little bit, you don’t mind, do you?” Kuroo took a few steps forward, his feet lightly rubbing against the floor as he stood a few inches away from Tsukishima’s face as he leaned over the bed, bringing them both face to face. Tsukishima could feel a chill run down his spine as their lips were close enough to touch, it was almost as if his entire body was screaming out to kiss his boyfriend right now. They had just kissed this morning when they both woke up, but Tsukishima felt like his lips were already dry from lack of contact.

“You can go ahead and take him.” Yamaguchi was all too happy to blurt out with a smile on his face, looking back down at his book as he started writing something down on a piece of paper, most likely some homework assignment.

Tsukishima was forced to bring his attention back to his boyfriend, his Cheshire-like grin was looming over him more than normal. The way Kuroo leaned over the bed and almost cornered Tsukishima was definitely more noticeable than usual, not that that was a bad thing, Tsukishima wouldn’t tell him this, but he often found Kuroo to be rather sexy when he acted this way, it usually only happened at night, right before they would make out and if the two of them were in the right mood for it, they would have a good fuck. Why did Kuroo want to see him right now?

As if realizing Yamaguchi was still in the room, Tsukishima stood off the bed, letting Kuroo grab him by the hand and lead him down the hallway a few feet, shutting the door behind them. Kuroo’s hands felt hot, warmer than they normally did, probably from just coming back from working out, he lightly squeezed Tsukishima’s hand as the two of them stood side by side against the wall in the hallway. He didn’t bother to ask Kuroo what he wanted, not that he needed a reason to see his boyfriend like this, if Kuroo wanted to, he could just of walked into the room, told Tsukishima that he wanted to make-out with him, and he might have actually let him. Kuroo had never been shy at distracting him from studying before. 

When Tsukishima first moved into this place, often he would leave his door open when he was studying, with some calm, studying music playing from his headphones, but he soon changed that when Kuroo would walk into his room, grab a book and sit down on the bed next to him, and slowly try to flirt with him. Honestly, he had to admire his efforts, Kuroo would always start by lightly tracing circles with his fingers along the inner sides of Tsukishima’s arm, making him gasp for breath as Kuroo continued playing with the tender skin. He would let that go on for a few minutes before he would move his hand up and down Tsukishima’s arm, going all the way up to where the lining of his t-shirt that he would be wearing that day met his skin. Not to mention every time Kuroo would do that, he would have that same look on his face, that look of provoking him, and knowing damn well that it would work.

Tsukishima would always ask him what he was doing when he did, and every time he would reply with ‘touching my boyfriend’ while we study together’, he knew it was a lie, anyone could tell it was a lie, but Tsukishima still let him. Letting him escalate until their bodies shifted and they were practically sitting on top of each other, with Kuroo’s arms wrapped around Tsukishima from behind as Tsukishima tried to hold his book out in front of him. It only took a few moments after that of Kuroo softly brushing his lips against the exposed skin on his neck and a few seductive whispers, and Tsukishima already found himself turning around to kiss the man. Kuroo was good at getting his way, he knew that, but Tsukishima was good at giving in too, not that he was entirely innocent. 

Recently, over the past few weeks Tsukishima found himself wanting to kiss Kuroo more and more, so much more that he would walk around in Kuroo’s uniform jersey, knowing that Kuroo always did say that he liked it when Tsukishima wore that. Or sometimes he would walk out of the bathroom wearing only a towel, insisting that he ‘left his clothes in his room’, it was a lie and Kuroo knew it, but if it would get him to make-out with him, it was always worth it.

“So did you want to ask me something, or did you just want to make out with me?” Tsukishima smirked, returning his boyfriend with a coy gaze in his eyes. He didn’t mind this at all, he wasn’t trying to get away from the conversation he was having with Yamaguchi earlier, but he didn’t mind escaping it. Tsukishima had nothing to hide, but nothing to tell either, and given how Kuroo acted around Daishou at the practice match, it was probably better that he didn’t know.

“I actually came to invite you to something.” Kuroo smirked, like always. It was almost weird, they had been dating for what felt like more than a few months now, but yet Kuroo still treated it as if he was trying to get Tsukishima to go out with him. Was this what you call never losing that romantic spark?

“Invite me to what?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at Kuroo. His mind already assumed it was some kind of matter, what else do you exactly invite someone to?

“We’re having a little party tonight to celebrate you joining the volleyball team. Well, it’s not so much a party as it’s the members of the volleyball team are all going to a club downtown tonight, and we’re using you as an excuse to not just say we’re going to get totally wasted for no reason.” Kuroo laughed, almost as if it were a joke, and it sort of was. As if a bunch of college kids actually needed an excuse to get wasted. Bokuto could practically get wasted on his own as is.

Tsukishima didn’t really have much to ponder, going or not going. He already knew if he refused in any way that Bokuto, Kuroo, and even Yamaguchi would find a way to get him to go, probably by having Bokuto literally carry him. It had been awhile since Tsukishima had gone to a party anyway, mainly because once you start your third year of University that’s when the work starts to get more intense, and he didn’t have much time to do it anymore. Plus, he needed a break, he needed to wash the memory of Daishou flirting with him out of his head.

“Tonight?” Though, that was still pretty short notice. When exactly was he planning on telling Tsukishima about this party? Was he just going to force him to go at the last possible minute? “Isn’t that kind of short notice?”

“What’s the matter, Tsukki? Don’t you trust me?” Kuroo teased him again, almost using his ‘fake’ sounding voice that he would use whenever he did the ‘I’m wounded’ thing.

It was like one of those moments where someone says something and then it immediately triggers a flashback. Tsukishima hadn’t thought much about that night at the waffle house when Daishou was there, only about how annoying it was for that guy to show up, but he did sort of admit to himself that he likes and trusts Kuroo. Well, he already knew that he liked him, but trust? It was hard to say. Would he let Kuroo lead him through the house blindfolded? Maybe. 

As if he didn’t have any other option, if he didn’t trust him, there was no way he would have moved in with him. “Of course I do.”

“Aw, I’m so flattered.” Kuroo teased him once again. “Bo, did you hear that? Tsukki says he trusts me!” Kuroo boasted, leaning his head up to look further down into the hallway, where Bokuto suddenly appeared, his head poking through the opening there.

“Dude! Congrats!” He almost said it as if Kuroo just announced him and Tsukishima were getting married, making Tsukishima roll his eyes. It really was hard to live with Bokuto and Kuroo together, they were best friends but very loud, and very loud was more like an understatement than anything else.

“Anyway.” As if Kuroo just wanted to boast about that, he turned his head, brining his attention back to Tsukishima, who couldn’t help but put a scowl on his face. “We’ll be leaving in about four hours. So wear something nice tonight.” Kuroo winked, returning back to that same old provoking smile on his face. “Oh, and you can tell Yams he’s invited too.”

“Yams?” 

It took Tsukishima a minute before he realized who he was talking about. He had never heard anyone give Yamaguchi a nickname before, let alone something that sounded so peculiar. “Since when did you two get so close?” He didn’t mean to sound rude, but he wouldn’t normally picture Kuroo and Yamaguchi interacting outside of talking about how to get Tsukishima alone with him. Bokuto and Yamaguchi seemed to have more in common than Kuroo and Yamaguchi did. Then again, they were living in a two story condo with six people, two of them being insane sex maniacs, and one of them hardly ever leaving his room, it was going to happen eventually that Yamaguchi and Kuroo would be alone from time to time. But that still couldn’t stop Tsukishima from wondering what it is exactly that the two of them talk about.

“What’s that saying again?” Kuroo placed his thumb on his chin, as if he was pondering something. “You should become friends with your boyfriends friends?”

“I think you’re thinking of the ‘keep the boyfriend close and the parents closer’ saying.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes, he was starting to think that Kuroo just made up half of these ‘sayings’, not that it didn’t stop him from turning the corners of his lips up in a feigned smile. Sometimes, his boyfriend was actually kind of funny, sometimes.

“Right you are, Tsukki. You’re so smart, you put all of us normal people to shame.” 

“Are you trying to compliment me again so that I’ll sleep with you?” Tsukishima smirked, shaking his head to the side as he almost judged his boyfriend. He really couldn’t talk about Bokuto and Akaashi being the ‘sex maniacs’ when him and Kuroo were just as bad.

“Is it working?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow, one of his hands moving to pull Tsukishima closer to him.

“Not even close.” Tsukishima leaned forward, placing a soft and gentle kiss on Kuroo’s lips, he was used to often being the one initiating things like this between the two of them. Kuroo would flirt and provoke him, and then Tsukishima would be the one to make the first move. 

It was a mutual effort, but it almost made it feel like there was an equal balance of things this way, the way Kuroo would squeeze his hands as their lips met, and how he would occasionally bite down on Tsukishima’s lips when they departed. He was an expert at this.

“Maybe if you let me study for the next two hours, then I’ll have bathroom sex with you, or something.” Again, Tsukishima meant it as a joke, something that he just decided to say impulsively as he turned around to face Yamaguchi’s room, not even realizing what he said until he heard himself speak it. 

Of course, the moment he heard a little gasp come out of Kuroo’s mouth, he knew that he had already done all he needed to.

 

The loud music could be heard emitting from a few blocks away, almost making the club feel like it was shaking. How did Kuroo find this place? He wasn’t even aware this town had a club, sure, it was probably the underground sort of club, but still.

He decided to let Yamaguchi dress him tonight, his best friend did usually have a pretty decent fashion sense. Dressing Tsukishima in some, what felt like over the top dress shirt, it was pure white and button up, with black pants that seemed to match. When did Tsukishima even buy something like this? Was this proper attire to even wear to a club? The only parties Tsukishima had been to where the basic college parties where clothes didn’t matter, you could show up in sweats or wearing a outfit for a cocktail party and they would still let you in, hell, they would probably let you in naked, they didn’t care. But this, this was different.

A long stretch of people, none of which that Tsukishima recognized, were lined up around a block, it was dark, but he could still make out that they were wearing some forms of nice clothes. Kuroo stood next to him, wearing a bright red v-neck style shirt that showed a little bit of his collar bones and his chest, along with a black jacket that seemed to go perfectly with his black pants. His hair still just as messy though as he held hands with Tsukishima.

They had originally decided to all walk here together, both Bokuto and Akaashi saying they would go on ahead, and Yamaguchi following close behind, but now it was like they were all gone. Did they get lost? Or did they just have some alternative motive? Tsukishima could almost feel himself scowling again as he thought about this possibly being another set up, some elaborate way for Yamaguchi and Bokuto to get Kuroo and Tsukishima alone again. They whole idea of it completely gave him a headache, they were already dating, why did they still insist on acting like total wingmen? It wasn’t like Kuroo was still trying to get Tsukishima to go out with them, they both had well gotten past that stage by now. The biggest thing right now on Tsukishima’s mind was just moving forward, continuing his relationship with Kuroo, he liked him, a lot, and he knew that. If anything, he was afraid of moving forward, afraid of what comes next, or what doesn’t come next.

“How did you find out about this place?” Tsukishima asked as he looked over at his boyfriend, though, he wasn’t sure his voice could even be heard right now from all the loud music.   
“A friend of a friend mentioned that it was a new club that just opened up. Well, actually Oikawa was the friend, apparently, this used to be a gay bar that him and Iwaizumi used to go to all the time, and someone bought it recently and turned it into a night club.”

“Is that so?” That sounds like the sort of thing Oikawa and Iwaizumi would say, even if he was just over hearing it, Tsukishima couldn’t imagine Oikawa ever giving up information like this willingly. Even if it was sort of nice to have something else to do in this town.

It wasn’t that long of a wait, maybe ten to twenty minutes’ tops. The music was blasting loud enough to where Tsukishima and Kuroo couldn’t have any sort of a decent conversation, so they were just left with the regular chit-chat of the people standing in front of and behind them, (not that you could really hear them either), and a lot of them already drunk off their asses.

At the front of the club they had to do what they did at any bar, present their IDs to the man standing in the front; giving that this town is over running with the population of twenty-something college kids, it’s not surprise that a lot of them would have fake IDs, so much so that they even saw a few people in front of them in line get thrown out because of it. It made Tsukishima wonder why some people would go to such lengths just to get alcohol.

Inside was a lot bigger than it looked on the outside, maybe it was just because the club was located on a dead-end street amongst another string of buildings that all looked like run down offices, but it was quite spacious. 

When you first walked in, there was a bar located on the left, with two or three men in suits pouring drinks in glasses and handed them off to people as they walked away. Further on past that there was a dance floor, emitting an array of bright lights as people danced to the obnoxiously loud music. Also, what looked like a string of bodies grinding, touching, and making out all littered the walls, and a large set of windows on the right wall overlooked the outside, giving view to the parking lot that appeared to be empty.

“I’ll get us some drinks, what do you want?” Kuroo looked like he was scanning the room, probably looking for a good spot where they could at least get some privacy, since talking was clearly out of the option, not that they came to a place like this to talk.

“Uh.. something strong and fruity.” 

Being at a place like this brought back memories of the night Tsukishima first went to Bokuto’s house for that party, the night him and Kuroo slept together and he started to realize that he liked him. It was almost astounding at how quickly things changed for the two of them. Kuroo was persistent and Tsukishima was stubborn, Yamaguchi mentioned before that he thought the two of them would be really good together, that they would balance each other out, so to speak. At first Tsukishima couldn’t see it, but maybe he was right. Speaking of Yamaguchi, where was he?

“Hey Kuroo, have you seen Yamaguchi?” Tsukishima asked in somewhat of a concerned voice. 

Yamaguchi may have been his wingman, but he still felt obligated to keep an eye on him, he always did get a little unruly when he was drunk, all a handsome stranger would have to do would pay him a few compliments and he would willingly go home with him. Making out with them and having some fun was fine, but he wanted to keep an eye on him. There can be lots of dangerous people at a place like this.

“I think I saw him come in ahead of us, he should be with Akaashi and Bo, don’t worry they’ll keep an eye on him. Well, Akaashi will, Bo will probably just try to make out with Akaashi the whole time, let me go get out drinks.” Kuroo smirked, leaning in and wrapping his arms around Tsukishima’s waist, pulling him close for a gentle kiss before walking away.  
He wasn’t that far out of sight, his hair made it impossible not to be able to pick him out of a crowd, with the way it stuck up in every direction as he walked away, making it discerningly obvious to find him in a crowd.

Tsukishima looked around the crowded room, though calling it a room felt like a bit of an insult, Bokuto’s living room was a room, this was like a mansion. You could get the sense that this used to be an office building before it was turned into a bar, and then into a club. There were various marks on the old wooden floor from where cubicles, desks, and office chairs probably once stood. The whole place had a musty feel to it. If Tsukishima had to guess, the ‘dance floor’ was probably an old meeting room, and the ‘bar’ was probably a front desk of some kind. Not that it really mattered now, but it was just an observation.

Tsukishima looked over towards his left, which still had a cluster of people making out, as sloppy drinks were almost spilled by everyone, making the entire room reek of an overwhelming smell of alcohol. Tsukishima thought that he saw a few familiar faces as he waited, Bokuto, Akaashi, and Yamaguchi for sure. Bokuto had Akaashi backed into a corner, making his way to kiss his neck as Akaashi looked around the room, locking eyes with Tsukishima for a small moment. It was almost alarming, there was something about looking at someone who was making out with someone that just made you feel uneasy. Maybe it was just because that was one of those PDA moments that should have been kept private that made it so uncomfortable. 

Yamaguchi on the other hand was appearing to be having some fun, he was only a few feet away from Bokuto and Akaashi, close enough to where they could keep an eye on him, but still give him some space. Right now, he was drinking, and dancing with someone whose face was too obscured by the flashing lights to make out right now, he looked tall, muscular, and with brown hair. Yamaguchi did always have a thing for the ‘strong’ type. Tsukishima thought to himself that in about ten minutes they would be making out. It almost made him laugh at how he had his best friend pegged down to the exact type of person he liked and when they would start making out. How amusing.

“For you.” Tsukishima turned his head back when Kuroo approached him, holding two brightly colored drinks in his hand, you could almost smell just how fruity they were from looking at them. 

Tsukishima gave a feigned polite nod as he accepted the drink and brought it to his lips. Normally he wouldn’t have taken drinks from just anybody, but given that Kuroo was his boyfriend, he thought that he at least wouldn’t try to drug him.

The drink itself was strong, stronger than normal as Tsukishima forced himself to swallow it, like it was almost blocking his senses as Kuroo and him stayed close to each other, struggling to hear one another.

“Say Tsukki.” Kuroo cooed next to him, the two of them leaning up against the window sill, their free hands over lapping one another’s. “Wanna go dance, or would you rather head for the bathroom?” Kuroo raised one of his eyebrows, giving Tsukishima the ‘you know what I mean’ look. Kuroo did seem to be in a particular good mood today, and when he got in a good mood, he was ten times more into having sex, that was definitely one thing Tsukishima had learned. 

“Did you only bring me here so we could have sex?” Tsukishima raised an almost amusing smirk at his boyfriend, taking another sip of his drink, before the two of them pulled themselves off of the window.

Kuroo moved forward, carefully balancing his drink in his hand as his other hand slid around to Tsukishima’s backside, turning him around and lightly placing his hand over top of the blondes stomach, holding him close, it was almost like they were grinding. Tsukishima could feel Kuroo’s hips pressing up against his back and ass as he turned his head around, planting a gentle kiss on his boyfriends lips. Kuroo’s kisses were always wet and sloppy, but this time there was an extra evident sweet taste on his tongue, most likely from the alcohol. 

“This is your welcome party after all, Tsukki, don’t you think you should spend some alone time with the captain?” Kuroo whispered in a low and seductive manner, letting his free hand run along through Tsukishima’s shirt and trace lines on his stomach.

“With that logic I should spend some alone time with everyone.” Tsukishima spoke blandly, but with an apparent tone of sarcasm in his voice. 

You could sort of say that Kuroo amused Tsukishima, in a way at least. The way he always teased him, flirting with him, touching him, and then even still staying by his side after all of his sarcastic jabs at him. It was almost too comfortable, too reassuring, like things were too good to be true. It was like that uneasy feeling, other than the uncomfortable run in with Daishou at the practice match the other day, and at the waffle house, everything had been going well for them. Tsukishima’s grades were good, he wasn’t terribly annoyed all the time, and he was starting to love volleyball again like he did back in high school, and all of that was because of Kuroo. (Okay, maybe not the grades part). But despite all that, Tsukishima couldn’t help but feel like things were off.

If this were a movie or a book, this would be the part where the main character finally decided to let go and let themselves fall in love, and then some minor conflict would appear, causing them to have some sort of fight, it would be cliché as everything else and then they would make up in a week or two, realizing that they love each other, and then roll the credits. Of course, all of that would be way too simple. There was still much in this relationship that Tsukishima hadn’t come to grips with yet. Maybe it was just because he was being overly cautious with his first real relationship, but Tsukishima felt so uneasy like this. He didn’t hate Kuroo, he was quite fond of him, if not, he wouldn’t have started dating him, but there was so much about him he didn’t know, so much he had to learn. Kuroo didn’t have a bad past necessarily, and he didn’t have any deep, dark secrets, he just seemed jaded. With him, he had two ways of showing affection, being sexual, and making come-ons, and those two were almost the same thing. Sometimes, Tsukishima just wished he would be up front about things more, it’s so much easier to read people when they are up front about things. Some people would probably call those people simpletons, like Bokuto, but being simple isn’t exactly a bad thing.

Kuroo moved his hand that was on Tsukishima’s stomach to his face, lightly caressing the blonde as it distracted him from his uneasy thoughts. Their mouths almost instantly meeting once again, their tongue rubbing against each other as they could taste the fruity drinks on each other’s breath. Maybe Tsukishima was just acting subconsciously again, but he felt himself lean into Kuroo, feeling that familiar heat rise throughout his body, as one of his hands reached up and tangled itself in Kuroo’s hair.

“Wanna go somewhere?” Kuroo asked almost as if Tsukishima was some random stranger he just met at a club, grabbing the blonde by the hand as he led him in the opposite direction of their friends, Tsukishima guessed most likely towards the bathroom.

Tsukishima thought about saying ‘I’m your boyfriend, not your one-night-stand’, but once again, found himself not being able to say it, maybe out of fear that it would just kill the mood.

Tsukishima’s vision felt slightly blurry, probably from the lights and the overpowering alcohol that was already in his system. They passed several faces that looked vaguely familiar, probably members of the volleyball team as Kuroo gave them all a friendly nod. Most of them already appeared to be drunk, with half of them either still drinking or making out with the person nearest them. The whole place reeked and was starting to make Tsukishima’s nose feel funny.

He watched as Kuroo turned his head to him, facing him, as the two of them turned down a corner in the large room, it was surprisingly empty, and well lit by a single bright light on the ceiling. The hallway was narrow, and with two doors, each on one side, one marked for men and the other for women. Tsukishima almost felt his breath get taken out of him as Kuroo shoved him up against the wall, planting a fierce kiss on his lips, as the almost empty drinks that were once in their hands fell to the hard, wooden floor.

Kuroo quickly shoved his tongue into Tsukishima’s mouth, the two of them almost instantly gasping for air as their hands began to wander. Tsukishima’s hands immediately going back to tangling in the bedheads hair, and Kuroo pinning him against the wall with one hand, while the other slid behind Tsukishima’s back, making it arch into the shorter mans chest. Tsukishima could feel Kuroo’s heat and pulse through his clothes, only making him hotter as he pressed a hand onto his chest, letting his head rest against the wall behind him as Kuroo moved to kiss and suck on his neck. His whole body felt like it was aching now with a chill, wanting to be touched and kissed by Kuroo more and more.

“Tsukki. I want you.” Kuroo cooed, his words slurred thanks to the alcohol, he really was a terrible drunk.

“You’re drunk.” Tsukishima breathed out, panting. They had only been kissing, but he could already feel his whole body become wrecked and heated. Like if he didn’t feel Kuroo inside of him right now he was going to explode. Fuck, why did Kuroo always make him feel this way?

“I am not.” That was a lie, anyone would be able to tell that Kuroo was beyond trashed at this point. “But I-“ He began again, before turning his head the side. Tsukishima followed him as soon as he felt eyes on them, and not the normal eyes of people just walking by, watching the two drunken college kids make-out for a moment, these were more like someone was intentional watching them, observing them, wanting to be noticed.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” A familiar voice spoke, stepping forward and coming face to face with them, like he was stepping out of a crowd of people. Though, they didn’t need to see his face to realize who it was, it was Daishou.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a lot harder to churn out than I thought it would be, thanks to midterms and all, but here it is. I should also be able to spend a lot more time writing now that i'm on spring break for the next two weeks-ish, and might be able to get more than one chapter out a week for this story. :)


	15. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re not an idiot, Kuroo. You do the math. Sorry, math never really was a strong subject for you. What I mean is, I know how you are, how you used to be. You’ll make a mistake and grow distant, you always have. You’ll probably go too strong on blondie here, he’s just too nice of a guy to say anything. Well, he’s more too laid back of a guy to say anything.”
> 
> “So, you’re saying you went to the waffle house to flirt with Tsukki?” Kuroo changed his stance, turning his back to Tsukishima as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Oh no. Tsukishima could instantly feel the tension start to rise between them, a lot like the practice match, but this time, Tsukishima feared things wouldn’t go over so smoothly, like if he wasn’t careful, Kuroo would throw a punch. 
> 
> “You call it flirting, I call it making him a better offer. Which it still stands by the way, Tsukki.” Daishou peered his head around from Kuroo’s body, like Kuroo was intentionally blocking his path.

Headache. That’s what Tsukishima felt, nothing but a massive headache. The way his body felt like it was almost forcibly pulled from Kuroo’s, as the two of them looked over in perfect unison at the snake-like man that was standing there. 

Tsukishima scowled, of all the times for him to show up, he had to show up right now. Tsukishima actually was starting to think he was cursed.

“What do you want, snake? Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something here?” Kuroo had both of his hands pressed against the wall, on either sides of Tsukishima’s head. His voice was annoyed, as anyone could expect, but more than that, his eyes were sending a venomous glare towards the other man. It was that same look Tsukishima had seen once before, when he first met Daishou at the practice match the other day. It still slightly alarmed him that Kuroo, someone that he considered to not be capable of doing anything other than flirting, could have a look on his face like he wanted to ring someone’s throat. And the worst part of all, Tsukishima found this look kind of hot.

“Don’t stop on my account.” Daishou laughed, flipping a small strand of his perfectly combed over hair out of his eyes, it felt like he was mocking Kuroo and making fun of him, which pissed Tsukishima off more than he already was. “I just came to see if the big cat had chased away the little crow yet.”

“What?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. He had always said from the moment that he met Kuroo that he did resemble a cat, but was he the crow? In what world did the tall, lanky Tsukishima ever resemble a crow? Given how tall he was, Tsukishima always thought that if he were an animal, that he would be more of a giraffe or a dinosaur.

“Now, now, Tsukki. Don’t forget the conversation we had the other day.” Daishou raised an index finger up at the blonde, and proceeded to shake it from side to side as he clicked his tongue, like he was scolding him.

Tsukishima could feel his entire body freeze up, like a little kid who had just got caught in a lie that they so carefully planned. He told himself over and over again that he didn’t want to mention this to Kuroo, not because he didn’t have a reason to, he just didn’t think it was important. Daishou was just a customer, albeit, a terrible customer who tried to flirt with Tsukishima, but that was it. It wasn’t like Tsukishima was weak or anything, falling for just anyone’s passes at him. Hell, if he hadn’t seen Kuroo at school so much, he probably wouldn’t have even agreed to go out with him.

“The other day, you mean at the practice match?” Kuroo now brought his attention over to Tsukishima, who was doing his best to keep his cool. It wasn’t like he did anything wrong, but him and Kuroo were still in the ‘newly dating’ catergory when it came to their relationship. He knew Kuroo could get angry at time and liked to flirt, but other than that, the amount of things Tsukishima knew about his boyfriend was pretty scarce. And it wasn’t like Kuroo was the type to just openly offer up information like he was an open book. Then again, the same could be said for Tsukishima.

Tsukishima brought his attention over to Daishou, he didn’t know the guy at all, but he knew that he was the type of person who liked to show off, prove people wrong, and if anything, there was no one he wouldn’t take the chance to tell Kuroo about this. He even looked like a snake tonight, dressed in a green jacket with his schools logo on it, and matching green sweatpants with two white stripes running down the legs. Talk about being underdressed for a place like this.

“I had a little run in with your little baby crow at his work the other day.” Daishou smired, resting a hand on the back of his head. “He really is a diligent worker, the food needs work though, but that can’t be put on him. We just had a little conversation, that’s all, the usual customer and waiter chit-chat.”

“What do you mean by a little conversation?” Kuroo rose his voice, not that you could tell from the still blasting music coming from the other end of the floor. Was this his attempt at being possessive and the dominant alpha male type? Tsukishima couldn’t tell if he was being serious or if it was just the alcohol talking, but he never thought that Kuroo would have this kind of reaction. 

“You’re not an idiot, Kuroo. You do the math. Sorry, math never really was a strong subject for you. What I mean is, I know how you are, how you used to be. You’ll make a mistake and grow distant, you always have. You’ll probably go too strong on blondie here, he’s just too nice of a guy to say anything. Well, he’s more too laid back of a guy to say anything.”

“So, you’re saying you went to the waffle house to flirt with Tsukki?” Kuroo changed his stance, turning his back to Tsukishima as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Oh no. Tsukishima could instantly feel the tension start to rise between them, a lot like the practice match, but this time, Tsukishima feared things wouldn’t go over so smoothly, like if he wasn’t careful, Kuroo would throw a punch. 

“You call it flirting, I call it making him a better offer. Which it still stands by the way, Tsukki.” Daishou peered his head around from Kuroo’s body, like Kuroo was intentionally blocking his path. “I meant what I said, I think you and I have a lot in common. For one, we both know what it’s like to date someone who is only ruled by what’s in their pants. Secondly-“

“-That’s not true.” Tsukishima wasn’t even sure if his voice would be heard from all of the banging from the music, but he needed this to stop. He always was good at reading people, and he knew this was going to get out of hand in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. “We’ve only been dating for a little while, but Kuroo’s not like that. People change from their past relationships, you know? He’s not like he was in high school.” Tsukishima hated this, and he hated this guy. It’s one thing to get Kuroo pissed off, so pissed off that he wants to hit someone, but it’s something entirely different to make Tsukishima say such sentimental, mushy things like this. And for that, he really hated this snake.

“You say that now, but give it a week or more, you’ll change your mind. Everyone does. Why do you think Kuroo only has his owl friend and that kid who just plays video games? Because no one else can deal with him.”

“Well, I’ve been dealing just fine with him over these past few weeks.” Tsukishima was snarky, as usual, almost smirking and laughing at Daishou’s terrible attempt to piss him off. Fortunately for him, Tsukishima didn’t anger easily. 

“You like him that much, then? So much that you’re willing to deal with all of his shit?” He was relentless, Tsukishima would give him that. Normally most people would have just walked away by now. Why would someone go through all this trouble just to get someone to sleep with them? They were at a club as it was, they were probably plenty of easy people who would be willing to sleep with a snake like this.

“If people don’t like someone, they won’t willingly move in with them.” Tsukishima almost felt like he should add a ‘duh’ on the end of that sentence, it really was the most obvious thing in the world, even if Daishou was just trying to rile him up. 

“So you love Kuroo, then?” Daishou crossed his arms in a similar way that Kuroo was doing, he seemed almost amused. 

It was weird, you would think between the three of them, that some sort of actual yelling confrontation would have happened, but it didn’t. Kuroo still stood behind him, like he was getting ready to throw a hit, but he didn’t, Daishou seemed like he was getting ready to say something super insulting and offensive, but he didn’t. Then again, both Kuroo and Daishou seemed like the kind of people who wouldn’t get into actual yelling arguments. Daishou was calm, a bit too calm, like he was observing everything and trying to get the best reaction out of people for his own gain. And Kuroo just seemed like he was curiously watching, trying to figure out what was going to happen next. Not that Tsukishima even wanted to bring himself to look at Kuroo right now, all of his attention was on Daishou, and that snake-like grin of his.

Love? Tsukishima thought about this briefly the other day along with trust. How do you know if you love someone exactly? If Yamaguchi was here, or rather, if Yamaguchi was here sober, he would probably give some speech about how ‘the minute you start asking yourself if you are in love, then that means you are’. Tsukishima didn’t know, he liked being around Kuroo, he liked kissing him, touching him, holding his hand, learning more about him, and his life did get a whole lot more interesting when he stepped into it, but was this love? This was Tsukishima’s first real relationship, so how was he supposed to know? Is there some kind of magic fortune teller you can go to find out?

“What? Don’t be…” Tsukishima wanted to say ‘don’t be ridiculous’, but remembering that Kuroo was directly behind him, so much behind him that he could feel him almost breathing down his neck, he had change up his words.

Tsukishima thought that Kuroo was jaded, but maybe he was even worse off than Kuroo was. He hated people, he hated confrontation, he would do anything to get out of answer questions like this. He even learned how to dodge adults questions from a young age, and used all of that he his advantages. But this, how was he supposed to dodge this? And more importantly, dodge this without making Kuroo upset of disheartened? He couldn’t, he knew he couldn’t, and he knew that he had just dug himself into a hole, one way or another.

“Tsukki.” Tsukishima started to back away, backing up right into Kuroo as he whispered softly in his ear. Was he supposed to be using a reassuring voice? Because it certainly didn’t reassure him at all.

“What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?” Daishou chuckled from behind the two of them.

“Just leave him alone, snake. Your problem is with me, not Tsukki!” There Kuroo went again, raising his voice, it felt like it was vibrating off of the narrow walls that surrounded them. Why was Kuroo almost an entirely different person when he was angry? It surprised Tsukishima, but not in a completely bad way.

“That’s where you’re wrong, my problem is actually with both of you. Do you know how infuriating it is to watch someone you now despise walking around all happy? It’s not fair, sure, I’m over you, I’ve dated people since then, but I’ve never had the same happiness as you’ve had with Tsukki here. That would piss anybody off. I don’t want your happiness, I just want to ensure that you’re not happy again.”

“So that’s why you’re after Tsukki.” Kuroo almost made it sound logical, like that was an acceptable reason, all whole Daishou was spouting off some speech like he was a super villain from some shitty cartoon. “Well I won’t let you have him.” Kuroo reached over, turning Tsukishima around to face Daishou, while he was still deep in thought, only forcing himself to listen to their conversation as a way of distracting himself.

Kuroo sounded almost possessive as he placed an arm around Tsukishima, holding him close as that glare returned to his eyes. Had Kuroo ever made his voice sound like this before? It was new to Tsukishima, so new in fact that it sent a chill down Tsukishima’s spine as he listened to it. Had he always been like this? Was this just another side of Kuroo that Tsukishima hadn’t seen before?

“Kuroo I…” Tsukishima wasn’t sure what to say, but it felt like it had been far too long since he last spoke, and who knows what Daishou was capable of saying without him in the conversation for too long. He had to say something, he had to do something, anything to get away from this conversation and the knot in his stomach that was forming once again. Anything at all. “I think I love you.”

“Huh?” That came out of left field, and everyone in the conversation knew it was, it was like time stood still for Tsukishima, as he heard those words playback in his head as he spoke them out loud. What did he just say? No, he didn’t mean that, he didn’t not mean it either, he just didn’t mean to say that, he meant to say anything else, anything.

He took Kuroo by surprise and he knew it. This was bad, Tsukishima didn’t get close to people, and he certainly didn’t tell him that he liked them, let alone love them. He could feel face turn red, and not in the usual embarrassed ‘I can’t believe Kuroo just said something that oversentimental to me’ state. This was almost full on shame, he needed to get out here, he needed to leave. What was wrong with him? He never depends like this so much on other people? And more so, what would Kuroo think of him? Surely this had to be what Daishou was talking about, Tsukishima did something and now Kuroo was going to push him away, this was it, it was all over. He had to be the one to end this first, he had to leave, now.

“I’m sorry, I’m going to leave.” Did Tsukishima’s voice sound slightly panicked? Because it was. The way he almost forced himself out of Kuroo’s grip, speed walking past him and Daishou, a light chuckle could be heard coming from the snake-like man, like this was what he was waiting for. Had he read Tsukishima perfectly? No, impossible, no one has ever been able to read Tsukishima. Did he know that this would happen? What was this strange feeling in Tsukishima’s stomach? Guilt? Regret? No, it couldn’t be.

“Wait! Tsukki-“ Kuroo’s voice could be heard calling out for him, even amidst all the loud music and the people, why was his voice still so clear, so easy to pick up on? And he had to live with him of all things, how was he supposed to go home like this? He was weak, that’s what he was. This was the end of Tsukishima Kei, a now denounced weakling.

 

“Tsukki!” Kuroo called again. Oh no, this was bad, what was wrong with him? Well, nothing was every wrong with Tsukki, but what happened? And more importantly, what did he say? He loved Kuroo? Kuroo never even thought of that as a possibility, he was just happy that he got to date Tsukishima, and when he thought about love, he always thought he would be   
the one to say it first. Hell, he was pretty much in love with Tsukishima from the moment he laid eyes on him at the waffle house that night.

“Careful, did hold your little bird too tight?” Daishou chuckled, placing a hand over top of his mouth, like he was trying to muffle his laughter.

Kuroo tried to regain his composure, telling himself over and over again in his head not to yell, not to fight, go after Tsukki, just go after Tsukki. Daishou didn’t matter right now. Kuroo still had a lot to learn about Tsukki, he wasn’t good at reading people the way he was, all Kuroo could do was provoke people, get reactions out of them, but what kind of reaction was this? He needed to know. Tsukki said that he loved him, but that wasn’t all, Kuroo was already in love with him from the moment he met, so what was the problem here? Why did Tsukki run away? Well, it didn’t matter why, he was going to go after here.

 

“Yams? Can I have a minute?” Kuroo lightly knocked on the door to Yamaguchi’s room, almost feeling hesitant, looking around to see if Tsukki was in there; he wasn’t.  
How long had it been? At least a week or more, and Kuroo hadn’t seen Tsukki at all, not in class, he hadn’t seen him coming out of his room, Bokuto and Akaashi tried to reassure him to the best of their ability, telling him that this is probably how Tsukki just dealt with his feelings, but he didn’t find it all that comforting. And that is what brought Kuroo here, to Yamaguchi, if anyone would know what to do, it would be freckles.

“Yeah, come in, Kuroo.” Yams always did have a pleasant voice, soft, and almost comforting. 

Right now, he was sitting on his bed, flipping through a text book as if he was studying. Kuroo wasn’t sure what gave it away, but it almost felt like Yamaguchi was waiting for him, expecting him to come talk to him. It was probably more than obvious by this point, but with Kuroo going days on end without seeing Tsukishima, he felt wrecked.

“Do you know where Tsukki is? He hasn’t been coming to classes, and I haven’t seen him around here?” It wasn’t like Kuroo needed to tell Yamaguchi that in order for him to know that’s why he was here, you could practically already see it on Kuroo’s face.

“Hm.” Yamaguchi hummed lightly, as if he was thinking over his words carefully, though you could already tell that Yamaguchi was just in a panic over this as Kuroo was. He still couldn’t understand why Tsukki ran away like he did, more like he couldn’t fathom it. Why would he run away? It wasn’t like he had killed anybody, and it’s not like Kuroo didn’t feel the same way he felt. “I know he’s staying at our old place with Asahi and Nishinoya, but that’s about all I know.”

“Is he okay though?” Was there a hint of panic in Kuroo’s voice? He couldn’t tell for sure, it felt like it had been so long since he last heard a snarky comment coming from the blonde that he was going insane.

“He gets like this sometimes. Have you tried calling him?”

“Several, and he won’t answer.” Kuroo had tried just about everything he could think of to reach out to Tsukishima, but how exactly are you supposed to contact someone when they won’t come to class, won’t come home, and won’t answer your calls and texts. Hell, Kuroo even tried to email him and that didn’t work. They had been going out for a few months already, but it felt like this was the first time Kuroo was actually learning something about Tsukki.

“Kuroo, I think it is best that I probably tell you about Tsukki.”

“Yes, anything.” Kuroo almost jumped at those words, right now he would take anything and everything, any chance he had to learn more about hit boyfriend. Was he sick? No, Tsukki didn’t look like the type of person who would get sick. He seemed more like the type who took really good care of himself, and probably wanted to avoid any inconvenience of being sick.

“How do I put this?” Yamaguchi began scratching the back of his head, like he was pondering before he spoke. Kuroo guessed that he was probably trying to choose his words carefully. “Tsukki’s not good with feelings, or emotions in general, as his boyfriend I’m sure you already know this. But, he’s running away, like he always does. I think he’s just scared.” There was evident concern in Yamaguchi’s voice, the voice of a concerned friend. It only made sense, Yamaguchi was Tsukki’s best friend, he had known him the longest, so if anyone would have any idea of what was going on with him, it would be him.

“Scared of what?” It wasn’t like Kuroo was completely dense, but the prospect of Tsukki, the tall, lanky blonde who had this almost intimidating attitude towards everyone, being scared of anything didn’t sound right to him.

“Well…” Yamaguchi started lightly scratching the side of his face, almost like he was embarrassed, or getting ready to tell a story that required him to think a lot as he spoke. There was almost a careful sense about him, like he had to get the wording right as he said every word. “How do I put this lightly? Tsukki doesn’t like people, he doesn’t like to get close to people. Throughout high school, I was the only person that he ever really talked to, and that was probably only because I stayed around him since we both were little kids.”   
Yamaguchi laughed, like there was some unspoken tension in the room, and he was trying to ease it. “But you’re Tsukki’s first, his first real relationship, I mean. I’m sure he probably told you, but he didn’t date in high school or these past few years in college, he just never had a reason too. So I think Tsukki’s just running away, he’s never really put all of his faith in another person before and he probably doesn’t know how to deal with these feelings. And I think what Daishou said to him the other day at the waffle house was slightly getting to him, making him subconsciously worry.”

“Was it that bad?” Kuroo still had little to no information on this ‘mysterious visit from Daishou’ Tsukki had when he was at work. Something like that seemed way too odd just to be a coincidence, and knowing Daishou, he doesn’t do anything without reason. If he could, Kuroo felt like he wanted to wring that snakes neck right then and there.

“I wouldn’t say it was bad, though, it wasn’t good either. I think it just put some unnecessary pressure on Tsukki’s mind. I think it made him realize how much he really likes you, and now he’s doing what I was most afraid he would do when your relationship got to this point; he’s running away. Look, this might sound a little weird coming from me, since we don’t really talk that much, but what I’m saying is, please don’t give up on him. I don’t know if you feel the same way he does, I’m not nearly as good at reading people as Tsukki is, but me and Kenma have talked about it, and we think you’re perfect for each other.”

“Perfect for each other?” Kuroo blinked his eyes a few times, as if he was trying to register what Yamaguchi just said. He always did have a pleasant way of speaking when he talked, his voice was soft spoken and timid, almost relaxing even, which even made a conversation like this sound that much more bearable. Yamaguchi had the sort of voice where even if he was yelling at you, it could still sound pleasant.

“I love Tsukki as a friend, and he was the first person I had ever slept with, but to most people he doesn’t come across as the most likable person, and can be rather difficult to deal with at times.”

For the most part, Kuroo understood what Yamaguchi was trying to tell him, it was like he was giving him hints, hints of what to do and say when he saw Tsukki again, yes again, he was going to see his boyfriend again. He had never thought about it before, and it came as almost a shock to him, but Tsukki was in a different situation than he was. Whereas Kuroo only had the oh so wonderful perk of having an annoying ex, Tsukki had never had to deal with anything like this before. He was his first. He still wasn’t one-hundred percent sure how he thought, or what was going on inside of his head half the time, but he was determined not to let this break them. Most couple have a little bump in the road within their first year of dating, just look at Bokuto and Akaashi. In the beginning Bokuto would get jealous and over protective of Akaashi a lot, it was kind of cute at first, until Akaashi had to do a group project with another man, Bo would get crazy jealous and beg to tag along. You could guess that it made for some awkward conversation. Eventually, that was something that Bo just had to learn to deal with, and trust, he just needed to trust his boyfriend, and this was really no different for Tsukki. this was just a little bump in the road, a little bump that wouldn’t have been caused if Daishou hadn’t shown his ugly little head.

“So please give him another call.” Yamaguchi spoke up again, a hint of optimism in his voice as he smiled. Kuroo thought for a moment that this was kind of like the equivalent of getting the fathers permission before you propose to someone.

It was almost like it was his initial reaction, after muttering a ‘thank you’, Kuroo pulled his phone out of his pocket, having already set Tsukki’s name and number to his number one on the speed dial option on his phone, he hit it.

The line on the other end felt like it rang for several minutes, and Kuroo knew that he couldn’t hide the somewhat anxiousness inside of him. In a strange way, Kuroo felt enlightened, he had known Tsukki for several months now, but never realized this about him. Not that it was expected that he would, Tsukki was like a closed book, he did go on about wanting to learn more about Kuroo, but he rarely also opened up about himself. He wasn’t the overly affectionate type, but Kuroo could still tell that he appreciated it when they were close. But despite all that, Kuroo got the main point that Yamaguchi was trying to get across to him. Tsukki was scared, Kuroo was probably the first person he trusted, outside of Yamaguchi, and now that he had his feelings out in the open, even if they were impulsive, he didn’t know how to deal with them.

“Hello?” The voice on the other end of the phone sounded almost groggy, like he had just woken up. Kuroo did his best to try to clear every thought out of his mind. What was he exactly supposed to say right now? ‘I know you said you love me and then ran away because you’re afraid of forming attachments to people, but I love you too, so let’s get through this together’. No, that sounded far too mushy. Yamaguchi said that Tsukki was scared, but scared of what exactly? Of hurting Kuroo? Of pushing him away? What was going on inside of Tsukki’s mind right now?

“Tsukki, I talked to Yams, he told me everything.” That was about as good of a start as any in Kuroo’s mind. If Tsukki ran away just because he was scared of confronting his feelings, Kuroo knew that he needed to tread lightly, but still be as reassuring as possible. He probably should have asked Yamaguchi about what the best way to go about talking to Tsukki right now was.

“You did? What did he say? Listen Kuroo, I think-“

“No, Tsukki!” Kuroo felt like he needed to interrupt him right then and there, he didn’t want to give him the opportunity to say something he might regret. As long as he had known him, Tsukki didn’t seem like the type of person who was impulsive, outside of kissing him, but right now Kuroo’s biggest fear was that Tsukki would utter the words ‘break up’, and that was the last thing he wanted, the last thing he needed, it was the one thing that he was going to do his utmost to avoid. “Yamaguchi told me everything, I still don’t know why you ran away like you did, without telling any of us, or why you haven’t been to school or back here, and why you seem to be avoiding me and everyone, but the feelings of what you said that day are mutual.” Was that the best way to put it? Tsukki didn’t seem like the kind of guy that would just openly accept an ‘I love you too’ back, Kuroo assumed he would probably prefer if it had been implied more than anything else. Was this the best way of putting it? Did Tsukki understand what Kuroo was trying to say? “Come by the volleyball gym tomorrow after your classes, we don’t have scheduled practice tomorrow, so we can practice alone and talk everything over then.” Kuroo did his best to sound inviting, he still wasn’t sure if it was entirely working, but hearing Tsukki breathing on the other end of the line was the most reassuring thing he had heard all week. And the fact that Tsukki hadn’t hung up the phone yet only proved to him that he wasn’t doing a terrible job at this conversation.

Kuroo waited for what felt like an eternity for his response, even though it was only actually a matter of seconds, seven seconds in fact. It was like Tsukki was starting to rub off on Kuroo, rub off on him so much that he was even starting to count things. Fuck, he was way too in love with this blonde. Yes, love, that’s exactly what Kuroo was in, and if his words would be believed, Tsukki was too. The feelings were mutual, so why couldn’t Tsukki just accept that, there was nothing wrong with accepting it. It’s not like saying you’re in love, even if it is your first, is the be all end all. Things didn’t have to be as black and white like that.

It felt almost as if Tsukki would hear the panic in Kuroo’s voice from the other line, so much so that he hopefully wanted to put him out of his misery sooner than later. A deep breath could be heard right before he spoke, and it was all that he needed to say. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I intended to get this chapter out a few days sooner than this, but we got a lot of rain storms where I live this week, and my internet's been flipping on and off because of that. But here's the next chapter, this chapter and the next chapter might be a bit on the shorter side. I was kind of meh on this one because this story is starting to come to an end.


	16. Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We should get this over with, I guess.” Tsukishima kept his tone bland, refusing to lock eyes with his boyfriend as he stood up from the bleachers. Was his voice shaking? He didn’t want it to sound like it was shaking.
> 
> “You don’t have to say it like that, Tsukki, I came here to talk to you, alone, some place where you can’t run away.” Had Kuroo been crying? Tsukishima couldn’t tell for sure, and he had never heard Kuroo before, but there was something with his voice, something that almost made him sound different, and Tsukishima didn’t want to bring himself to look up at his face to clarify if he had been or not.
> 
> “Is that what Yamaguchi told you? He means well but I don’t always run away. This is the first time, actually.” Well, Yamaguchi wasn’t wrong with any information he gave Kuroo. Tsukishima never did well with feelings so he ran away from them, and this time he ran away from Kuroo. He didn’t know what else to do, and you could call it a bit of a personality reflex, but Tsukishima was only good at pushing people away. Even Kuroo.

This felt like it was back where it all started. It wasn’t where they first met, but within the week after Tsukishima met Kuroo, he was already being dragged to the university volleyball gym. It felt like so long ago as he thought back on it now, the way that Kuroo pinned him up against the net, touching him, making it clear that he liked him. And now here he was, back again at the same place, but things felt so different now. God, why did Tsukishima have to be and feel so stupid? No matter what way you look at it from, this was his fault.

He let Daishou provoke him at that party, falling right into his hands and blurting out his feelings right then and there. It wasn’t as bad as lying to someone, but for Tsukishima, just saying that he loved Kuroo wasn’t something that he could take lightly. He was pissed at himself more than anything else. How could he be so stupid? It was just one word, but that one word holds a world of meaning, a stupid world of meaning.

When he talked to him on the phone yesterday, Kuroo sounded fine, if anything, he already had a pretty good idea of what Yamaguchi told him. Probably something about how Tsukishima was running away, like he always did, it wasn’t like he planned to, all of this just sort of happened, like everything seems to do. Tsukishima never wanted a boyfriend in the first place, he wanted to be left alone, he wanted to just live out the rest of his days as a normal college student with his normal job at the waffle house. Why did this have to happen? He didn’t want this.

And yet still, here he was. An hour early, sitting on the bleachers as he waited for Kuroo. What was he even thinking? Was there even any way to explain what he did? Just saying ‘hey, sorry I said I love you and then avoided you for almost a week’. Honestly, even saying he was sorry implied that Tsukishima regretted his decision, which he didn’t necessarily, he just regret how it happened. Thinking about it, maybe breaking up was the better option. Relationships were hard, and the fact that this one didn’t end with the two of them yelling at each seemed like a win to Tsukishima. What was that thing that Kuroo told him before? That all first relationships end terribly. Well, this was proof of that.

It didn’t have to end, and Tsukishima knew that, but the thing was, he couldn’t bring himself to stay. It was like one of those things, once you make the first mistake, or once you step off the path just a little bit, it’s easier to just never get back on it. It was a bit of an unfortunate situation.

“Tsukki?” A familiar voice spoke from next to him, he was so busy in his own thoughts that he didn’t even hear the doors to the gym open. Of course, he didn’t have to think twice to know who it was. Who else could it be other than Kuroo?

Tsukishima didn’t want to harp on what he looked like, he didn’t even know why Kuroo asked him to come here, but he still came here nonetheless. He assumed he was here just to recap what Yamaguchi told him, and so they could talk about what happened the other night, the night that Tsukishima really didn’t want to relive. But it’s not like they had another way of talking about it. Did they even need to talk about it? Couldn’t they both just go on with their lives and pretend it didn’t happen. Tsukishima knew that was just wishful thinking at this point, but if he could avoid this situation, he would have.

Tsukishima spent the better part of the past week in his old dorm room, which still looked the same except a lot less stuff, the beds were still there thought. Both Asahi and Nishinoya didn’t mind, and he made them promise not to tell anyone he was there. Tsukishima even offered to pitch in if they needed extra food with him staying there, Asahi of course said they didn’t, he had always been really nice like that, and Tsukishima was grateful. So grateful that it almost distracted him from Kuroo – almost.

No matter how hard he tried, Tsukishima couldn’t get the bedhead off his mind. They hadn’t seen each other in days, and it seemed like whenever Tsukishima went to bed every night, Kuroo was in his dreams. He didn’t get the chance to see him in class, because he didn’t go to class, but it felt like his whole body felt withdrawn right now. Like Kuroo was a drug that he needed. How pathetic. To think there would come a day when Tsukishima would feel like this. What was happening to him?

“We should get this over with, I guess.” Tsukishima kept his tone bland, refusing to lock eyes with his boyfriend as he stood up from the bleachers. Was his voice shaking? He didn’t want it to sound like it was shaking.

“You don’t have to say it like that, Tsukki, I came here to talk to you, alone, some place where you can’t run away.” Had Kuroo been crying? Tsukishima couldn’t tell for sure, and he had never heard Kuroo before, but there was something with his voice, something that almost made him sound different, and Tsukishima didn’t want to bring himself to look up at his face to clarify if he had been or not.

“Is that what Yamaguchi told you? He means well but I don’t always run away. This is the first time, actually.” Well, Yamaguchi wasn’t wrong with any information he gave Kuroo. Tsukishima never did well with feelings so he ran away from them, and this time he ran away from Kuroo. He didn’t know what else to do, and you could call it a bit of a personality reflex, but Tsukishima was only good at pushing people away. Even Kuroo.

“It’s your first time because I’m your first boyfriend, right?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow at Tsukishima as the two of them made their way down onto the floor of the gym, right in front of where the volleyball net was. It was almost silent as they walked, and Tsukishima could still feel Kuroo’s eyes on him. Why did he have to do this, why? And the fact that Kuroo didn’t have that provoking tone in his voice made this all the more unbearable. 

“Tsukki…” As if Kuroo realized how long it was taking for Tsukishima to reply. He didn’t mean to take this long, but what do you say to someone when you feel like every option is the wrong one?

From the corner of his eye, Tsukishima saw Kuroo reach his hand out to touch him, like he wanted to touch his face, let him know that everything was going to be okay. When he met Daishou he told him to be careful of Kuroo, but someone should have told Kuroo to be careful of Tsukishima. He didn’t want to hurt Kuroo, he cared and liked him too much for that, and the only way to not hurt him was to push him away, and to run away.

“Tsukki… we can talk-“ Kuroo spoke again, softer this time, like he was talking to a child that he didn’t want to upset.

“Talk about what exactly?” There was a certain coldness in Tsukishima’s voice as he spoke, one that he knew Kuroo had heard before, but this time it seemed to have a more serious effect on him, like he was listening to Tsukishima’s every word, taking it all in. “I told you that I love you, remember? Is that what all of this is about? We really shouldn’t make such a big deal out of three little words.” Tsukishima didn’t even know what he was saying anymore. In his mind he really only had two options, go with the regret route and say that he didn’t mean it when he really did, and only hope that Kuroo wasn’t too upset about it all, or go with the ‘chill’ or nihilistic route, try to play it off like it was no big deal. It was the most unlike Tsukishima, so he thought they not go with that one?

“Tsukki, you don’t mean that, those three little words made you run away. We can-“ Kuroo reached out to touch Tsukishima’s arm, but then stopped at the last second, almost like he thought it would be too soon. It was like he was treading lightly, not wanting to step on any mines. It was so new for Tsukishima to see him like this, and he couldn’t decide if he liked it or not.

“We can talk about it? Was that what you were going to say? Look, I’m sure Yamaguchi told you by now, but I’m not very likable, Daishou told me that you have issues, but I think I’m the real one with the problems here. I’ll push you away, it might not be today, but tomorrow I might. I might run away again, this time to some place farther than our old dorm room. I like you and I don’t want to hurt you, and yeah, I think I meant what I said the other night when I said that I love you, but I don’t think we can be together anymore. It’s like you said, your first relationship never ends well. It went better than I thought it would, and lasted longer than I thought it would, but I’ll hurt you, and I can’t have that. So goodbye, Kuroo. I’ll… uh… see you in class.” That was it, Tsukishima did it, he faced Kuroo. now all he had to do was turn around and walk out of here. Sure, they would still see each other in class, but that would be fine. Tsukishima knew that Kuroo would leave him alone if he really wanted him to. But right now, why was he having such a hard time turning around, like he was paralyzed and couldn’t move. What was wrong with him?

“Tsukki, do you hate me?” Kuroo. That was what was preventing him from leaving. He had his arm gripped tightly around Tsukishima’s wrist, almost to the point where it was painful, it was like he was holding on to Tsukishima as if it was his dying wish. 

“Of course not. Why would I hate you? Now let me go.” Tsukishima scowled in an almost familiar tone as he looked down at his bed headed boyfriend. Boyfriend? No, that can’t be right. Tsukishima just broke up with him, he wasn’t his boyfriend anymore, just some guy.

“Then tell me what I did wrong.” Kuroo sounded almost like he was begging. “If I did something to make you hate me, then I’ll change it. But until you tell me, I just can’t accept that.” For the first time in over a week, Tsukishima looked down at Kuroo, looking at his eyes and the expression on his face. He had been crying. He had dark circles under his eyes that were lined with redness. He looked like he hadn’t been sleeping, and his hair looked ten times worse than it normally did. Fuck. What was this emotion Tsukishima felt in the pit of his stomach? Where those tears swelling up in his eyes? No, it couldn’t be. Tsukishima hadn’t cried since he was a maybe, it had to be the weather, that’s all.

“We’ve been going out for how long now? And we still don’t know very much about each other. I don’t know what you want to do with you biology degree, you don’t know that I have a brother. The amount of things we know about each other is minimal, and I already told you I want more than just sex.”

“Then ask me anything, Tsukki. I can’t live without you right now. I love you, dammit, I love you. So why can’t we stick through this and see how it plays out?”

“You still don’t get it, do you?” Now Tsukishima was full on yelling. He didn’t know why. What kind of new found emotions had Kuroo strung up in him just now? He could even feel his voice vibrating as he spoke. “We’ll hurt each other, we’re just not meant to be. I’ll push you away, and as Daishou said, you’ll grow distant. I don’t want that in my life, I never even asked for a boyfriend in the first place. So, what gives you the right to- fuck!” Did Tsukishima say that he wasn’t crying, because that was a lie. He could feel the cool tears stream down his cheeks, as his legs gave out from underneath him, his body hitting the cold floor as he fell into Kuroo’s touch.

No. Why here? Why now? Tsukishima didn’t want this, he didn’t want this at all. He wanted to break up with Kuroo, to go back to living his life. He was crying, but still. Why was he so happy? Feeling so happy as he helplessly clung onto Kuroo, wrapping his arms around the boys back as Kuroo rested his face against Tsukishima’s. he wasn’t even sure whose tears he was feeling anymore, his or Kuroo’s. So why, why was he feeling so comforted right now? This shouldn’t be how he was feeling at all.

“Tsukki.” Kuroo spoke again, his words almost impossible to make out under the stream of tears and crying noises that surrounded the two of them. “I love you, and I mean it. Fuck what anyone else says. Just please… stay with me. I won’t accept anything else.”

“Kuroo, I-“ Tsukishima didn’t even know where to begin. What did he want to say? What did he really want to say? He thought for a moment that he should just let himself speak impulsively again, maybe that would solve everything. And to think he came here to break up with Kuroo, put all of this behind him, but he only fell back into his touch once again, for better or worse. “Promise me.” Tsukishima spoke softly. “Promise me you won’t let me say anything this mushy every again.” That’s what Tsukishima hated the most about all of this, that Kuroo turned his whole world upside down, making him say things and do things he normally wouldn’t do, making him feels things he normally wouldn’t feel. It was all terrible, and all because Kuroo walked into the waffle house that day. He was Tsukishima’s customer, but the worst kind. 

Kuroo smiled, it was the first time seeing him smile in over a week, and Tsukishima felt happy, genuinely happy, as Kuroo leaned forward and placed their lips together. “I promise.”

 

“Tsukki, I’m sorry but I can’t really hold back now.” Kuroo muttered against Tsukishima’s hot skin, his breath equally as hot. Their bodies felt like they were on fire as their clothes scattered on the gym floor. How did it come to this? Oh yeah, make up sex. 

It started with making out, as it always does, Kuroo held Tsukishima and then his hands began to wonder, as his lips moved to kiss more than just lips. Tsukishima clung onto Kuroo as every inch of his body that Kuroo touched began to burn up. Kuroo already spent the better part of the last several minutes sucking along Tsukishima’s neck and jawline. Why did every single part of Kuroo feel so good? This should be illegal, especially after being the only person to make Tsukishima able to cry.

“We’re in public, Kuroo.” Tsukishima breath was raspy as he gasped for air, feeling Kuroo’s shirtless body touch his own.

They were both sitting facing each other, Tsukishima had his legs wrapped around Kuroo’s middle section as their shirtless chests touched each other. Both of them with their hands desperately holding onto one another.

“It’s after school hours, the only ones bound to be here right now are Oikawa and Iwaizumi, and I don’t care if they see us. I love you, Tsukki, I love you.” He kissed along Tsukishima’s jawline once again, this time pushing his back onto the floor, letting his hands delicately run over the blonde’s sensitive chest.

“You don’t have to say it so much.” Tsukishima scowled. Now who was the mushy one?

“Say it back, Tsukki. Say it back and I promise I’ll make you never want to run away or push me away again.” Kuroo planted light kisses along Tsukishima’s chest, he was back to being his provoking self, and that somehow made Tsukishima feel that much more welcome in his arms.

“If I say it back, then can we not do this in public?” Tsukishima meant it as a joke more than anything else, almost laughing as he leaned his back and let it rest against the hard wooden floor of the gym. But as he brought his eyes down to look at Kuroo, he was reminding of just how provoking his boyfriend could be. Yes, boyfriend. Kuroo was Tsukishima’s boyfriend again, just as he should be. If Yamaguchi was here, he would say something about how the balance of things was back in order because the two of them were back together. It was so strange to think about it, but his best friend did have a point, like he always did.

“Maybe.” Kuroo winked, resting his chin lightly on Tsukishima’s chest, the tip of his bangs resting against his skin, and they tickled as he moved his head. 

They say that every person has an ideal version of what happiness means to them, and if you asked Tsukishima what happiness meant to him several months ago, he would have to be alone, to be in silence and not be bothered by anyone, but now if you would ask him, Tsukishima would probably say this was his happiness. Being able to look down and see Kuroo’s face nuzzled against him, to feel his boyfriends warmth, that’s what his happiness felt like. And despite less than an hour ago all he wanted to do was run away, Tsukishima wouldn’t mind staying here forever. (Without the being in public thing, of course).

Tsukishima smiled slightly, though his smile was more like a normal person’s smirk. He only had one option of what to say right now, and he could already feel his body start to become irritated from lack of scowling. “I love you too, Tetsurou.” 

 

Tsukishima sighed as he glanced over at the familiar clock on the wall, it had been a blissful week since his ‘make up’ with Kuroo, if you can even call it that, but everything seemed to return to normal, his classes were fine, everyone in Bokuto’s condo were getting along, and practice had been going much more smoothly than before. Even Oikawa was surprisingly pleasant half the time, both Oikawa and Kuroo were even mumbling about a college tournament coming up soon that they wanted to start preparing for. It was all small talk though, and something that Tsukishima considered to be out of reach for them, but who knew? He found himself questioning his logic when he was with Kuroo. 

Speaking of Kuroo, he was waiting for him to come and pick him up after his shift tonight at the waffle house, saying they were going to have a double date tonight with Bokuto and Akaashi. Tsukishima guessed that it would just probably be another terrible movie night, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to it.

Right now, he was working another dull shift with Kageyama and Hinata, the two of them arguing again about who knows what in the kitchen. Seriously, why did Tsukishima have to get stuck with two such incompetent people? Though, he couldn’t complain that much, this place after all was responsible for getting him to meet Kuroo, even if a few months had passed since then. And you had to admire his audacity for hitting on his waiter. 

Tsukishima almost laughed thinking about it now as he heard the chime of the bell over top of the door of the waffle house, great, another customer, right when he was about to get off too. The thought of having to put on another fake smile for someone today was already starting to make his blood boil. They had more customers today than usual, was a store downtown having a sale or something? Normally this many people can’t be assed to come into an almost run down waffle house during this time of day.

Tsukishima walked a few steps closer from the front counter where he was standing to the door, only to be surprised by the sudden appearance of a familiar, messy bedhead smiling at him. 

“Hello, I’m looking for the cute waiter-boy, I have an important meeting with him, and need to bring him with me asap.” He smirked at Tsukishima, slightly pissing him off and crawling under his skin, like he always did, but this time it didn’t seem as annoying as before, maybe he just caught Tsukishima in a good mood right now. “Also, I want some dessert.” He added, sending a subtle wink to Tsukishima, not that Hinata and Kageyama were paying any attention as it was.

“How many times do I have to tell you? We don’t have dessert here.” Tsukishima forced a scowl as he pushed his glasses up his face.

“Then I’ll just have to have you instead, Tsukki. are you ready?”

“Took you long enough, if I have to spend another second with the simpletons then I was going to pass out from boredom and their idiocy.”

“Hey!” Hinata’s head poked out from around the corner, slightly glaring at Tsukishima before returning back to wherever Kageyama was.

“Hm. You never change, Tsukki.”

“Neither do you. Now can we go? The smell of waffles is starting to infect my brain.”

“We can go, if you give me a kiss.” Kuroo winked again, taking a step closer to Tsukishima, sending that familiar chill down his spine. He really hated his boyfriend at times, the way he could be so provoking really pissed him off, but at the same time, he loved it.

“You’re terrible, you know that?” Tsukishima scowled, untying his apron as he took a step past Kuroo, looking back and nodding to Hinata to let him know that he was leaving now, he figured the hyper orange haired boy should be able to handle things until they close.

“I’m a customer.” Kuroo smiled from behind him, like he was egging him on, and Tsukishima decided to give in to him one more time, leaning forward and planting a kiss on his lips.

“Yeah, but the worst kind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, writing this chapter has been an emotional roller coaster, I wasn't even sure I would get this out this week because my internet was out for two full days thanks to rain storms, it's also a lot shorter than I originally intended, and I feel like I'm terrible at writing 'fight' scenes, but here it is. Thank you guys so much for the support on this story, I definitely didn't think it would do as well as it did, but I think it did pretty well considering this was my first haikyuu fan fic. This is the last chapter, so thank you guys so much again. And I will be writing more KuroTsuki (and maybe some BokuAka) very soon. :)


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